


A Dream of Electric Skies

by SaintOrpheus



Category: Westworld (TV), Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crossover, M/M, Multi, POV Alternating, Robots, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Violence, Westworld AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-08-31 07:10:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8569042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaintOrpheus/pseuds/SaintOrpheus
Summary: Teddy Altman used to love watching old Western movies with his mother when he was little. He often fancied himself a gunslinging cowboy. So, after his mother's death, he decides the best way to honour their shared love for the Wild West is a trip to the ultimate resort: Westworld. A place to live out his every cowboy fantasy. Horse riding, shootouts, hunting for bandits and outlaws, all with the knowledge that none of the Hosts in the park can really hurt him beyond the odd bruise or two.At least, that's what he was told. But something is stirring in the park. And thanks to a certain dark-haired boy, Teddy soon finds himself tumbling down the proverbial rabbit hole...





	1. Tabula Rasa

**Author's Note:**

> You don't need to have seen Westworld (TV show) to read this, as this fic isn't following the plot of the show, just borrowing the universe! All you need to know is that Westworld is a huge theme park based around the Wild West with robots (known as Hosts), anything else you need to know will be explained, don't worry!
> 
> This is my first fanfiction so please leave any feedback, it's greatly appreciated! Criticism is ALWAYS welcome! :)

Billy Kaplan awoke from deep and dreamless slumber. 

The warm light of morning was drifting through his window in glorious slants of gold. Motes of dust danced in the light, drifting serenely as Billy stared at them. In moments like this he could almost believe there was a sentience to the dust, the way it meandered through the air. He knew, of course, that these were the errant thoughts of a mind still clinging to the last tendrils of sleep, but he couldn't help smile at the thought nonetheless.

Billy slipped from his bed and dressed himself before heading into the kitchen to greet his mother with a kiss on her cheek.

His mother was a beautiful woman. People in town often remarked how much Billy looked like her, but Billy could never see it. Sure, they had the same dark hair, the same amber eyes, the same high cheekbones and skinny limbs. But it was more than that, his mother had...  _something_. Something Billy couldn't really put into words. She was beautiful, and Billy could not see the same beauty in his face no matter how often others told him of the likeness he shared with his mother.

It was on mornings that his mother looked the most beautiful. When she stood in the sunlight that flooded into their kitchen, her eyes glazed slightly as they stared at the horizon, dreaming of things Billy never asked about. His mother deserved her private fantasies, for she had raised him good and well.

"Mornin'," he said with a cheery singsong quality to his voice as he slid onto a chair at the table.

"Mornin'," she said back as she placed breakfast before her son, "Your father has already left for town, said he gotta go see about gettin' a dog to keep lookout. You know how he worries himself sick about bandits comin' down from the hills."

Billy let out a small chuckle. His father sure did worry.

"We've lived here my whole life and not once have I seen any bandits come by our place," he said.

"I know, I know, but you know how your father gets. There's no arguing with that man once he sets his mind on something," his mother said, once again busying herself around the kitchen. "You know he's only looking out for us, William."

Billy smiled. His mother was the only person he knew who called him William, everyone else called him Billy, just as he asked them to.

Once he had ate his breakfast and said goodbye to his mother he set off into a brand new day.

He saddled up his horse, Scarlet, and rode off toward the town of Sweetwater where he worked as a clerk at the general store.

Billy liked his job, it meant he got to talk to whole range of people as they passed through town. He'd gotten into a particular rhythm with his days, but not the kind of rhythm that feels monotonous, no, Billy felt happy with his simple little life here in Sweetwater. Every morning he woke up, rode to town, worked, and then returned home. Sometimes he would drop by the Mariposa for a drink if he was feeling social, though he preferred not to do that too often because the ladies working there would always offer their services and it made Billy feel a little awkward to reject them. They meant well, they were just doing their job after all, but Billy had no interest in women.

Once upon a time Billy had had a crush on one of the local bounty hunters who went by the name of John Kesler. A tall, muscular man with matted dark hair and rugged stubble. But Kesler did not reciprocate those feelings, in fact he had been violently in opposition to Billy's feelings. It had been a particularly hot day when Kesler had dropped by the store. Perhaps Kesler had noticed the way Billy's eyes had lingered over the part of his bare chest exposed by his open shirt, or perhaps Kesler believed those silly rumours that his mother had been involved with witchcraft before arriving here in Sweetwater. Whatever it was, something had pissed Kesler off because he waited for Billy to be done for the day and, in the cover of night, ambushed Billy on his way home and beat him black and blue. From that day forward Kesler had taken up a real strong grudge against Billy. A grudge that lead Billy to avoid being around Kesler at all costs.

Luckily for Billy, Kesler also had seemed to be avoiding him after the incident too. Though Billy couldn't deny the shivers that shot up his spine whenever he was walking down the street and caught sight of Kesler hanging out by the jail or the Sheriff's Station or the Mariposa. Kesler would often ask travellers and newcomers to the town if they wished to participate in a mission to capture a reprobate or bandit as the more guns along for the mission, the more successful said mission would likely be. But there was always a fear that curled deep in the pit of Billy's stomach that perhaps, if Kesler felt so inclined, he could persuade a couple of the people to exact some kind of violence against Billy. He could lie, and tell people that Billy was a wanted criminal. Or perhaps he could just promise them gold or treasures.

No. No, he had to stop thinking like that.

He pushed those dark thoughts from his mind as he dismounted his horse and tied her to the post in front of the general store. He made sure she had plenty of hay in the trough near the post, and checked that the water bucket was full, before giving her a gentle stroke and entering the store for his work day. 

The day went by rather fast. Billy had a long conversation with a middle-aged couple who were new to town, he told them about the various places to go in Sweetwater, told them about lovely places to visit in the wilderness, but he warned them not to stray to far from town. The further from town you go, the wilder this place gets. Everyone knows this, except the newcomers of course. And sure, Sweetwater has the occasional shootout, the odd robbery, but mostly life here is good.

But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

It was late by the time Billy was finished for the day, the sun having dipped it's glowing head below the dusty horizon, bowing out to the brief reign of dusk. The main street of the town was still busy, despite the growing dark, as locals and newcomers alike bustled to and fro.

Billy caught the eye of Maeve Millay, the madam of the Mariposa, as she lounged languidly against the railings outside of the saloon. They exchanged polite nods of acknowledgement before Billy turned and saddled up his horse.

The sky had turned a deep shade of purple by the time Billy came in sight of his home. And immediately the hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention. Something was wrong. He knew it. All the lights in the house were burning like beacons in the dark loneliness of his family's land, and even from where he was Billy could tell the front door hung wide open. By this time the only light that could usually be seen was that of the kitchen where his mother would be fixing supper for Billy and his father. But here the whole house was alight, like a blaring sign screaming to him that something wasn't right.

Billy dug his heels into the side of his horse and sped on to close the distance between himself and his home.

Once he had arrived at the front of the house he swung himself from his horse and ran to the doorway. He opened his mouth to call for his mother but seconds before he crossed the threshold his path was blocked by a tall figure, silhouetted against the glow of Billy's home.

And then, with a searing pain to his head, the world went black.

***

Billy awoke, aching, dazed, and terrified. He found himself unable to move. Rope. He felt rope against the bare flesh of his forearms. He was tied up against one of the support beams that held up the veranda that snaked around the exterior of his house.

The sound of callous laughter filled his ears as he whipped his head side to side in search of the silhouetted figure. The man Billy knew had to have been responsible for his current situation.

Billy knew exactly who was laughing before he even set eyes on the man. John Kesler. He stood flanked by two men who had their faces concealed with bandannas, just two anonymous cronies. The one to the right of Kesler had to have been the silhouetted man, simply due to the height of his build.

Billy's inability to identify these men didn't fill him with any relief. The men stood beside Kesler as he laughed, and Billy knew it took a certain kind of man to stand beside John Kesler. Even the rest of the bounty hunters, people known for their comfort around violence and lack of fear of reprehensible undesirables, kept their distance from Kesler. The man was abhorrent, famously so.

It was only when Billy tried to speak that he realised he was gagged. A handkerchief or some scrap of fabric had been tied across his mouth, making communication of anything beyond moans and growls impossible. Billy's struggle earned him another burst of cold laughter from Kesler. This time his two cronies joined in. 

"Don't bother crying out. Ain't nobody here to hear you," Kesler said, his voice laced with malice.

The look in Kesler's eye told him everything he needed to know. His father was dead. His mother was dead. And very soon, Billy would be dead too. A crushing wave of hopelessness collapsed on Billy, filling his ears with the rushing rhythm of his own blood pulsing through his body. And then he was crying. Tears spilling down his cheeks.

Again Kesler laughed, though this time the sound was more of a sneer than the cold undulation that had bellowed from deep within him beforehand.

Kesler nodded to the man on his left, who Billy noticed was carrying a small barrel. The man approached him and the disappeared from Billy's view as he walked behind him. The contents of the barrel were dumped over Billy as Kesler lit a cigarette with a match he produced from the pocket of his vest.

Billy felt sick as the sudden realisation of what was about to happen hit him. He thrashed and struggled against his bindings, straining his voice to scream for anyone to hear him.

"Well, as they say in the Good Book, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," Kesler said with a wink before flicking the still lit match in Billy's direction.

The tiny flame somersaulted towards him before making contact against his soaking wet chest. The tiny flame bloomed into glowing life around his torso, engulfing him with searing heat and light.

And that's when the screaming began.

* * *

Teddy Altman stepped off the train onto a brightly lit station where multiple people stood waiting for the guests that were disembarking.

White lights shone down on immaculate white tiles. It was dazzling, but damn did it take a second or two to adjust.

A tall, slender woman in a dress (also white, Teddy noted) stepped towards him, offering him a wide smile.

"Welcome, Mr Altman," she said in a calm yet authoritative voice. 

"Oh, hi, thanks, erm, Teddy is fine, thank you," he said, offering the woman his hand.

"Teddy, lovely. My name is Angela and I'll be leading you through your orientation, so to speak."

The woman, Angela, turned and walked off toward several sets of escalators. Teddy was clearly meant to follow her, so he hurried to match her swift pace.

They ascended the escalators and walked down a wide corridor, the walls of which consisted of video-screens playing adverts for the park itself. Westworld. 

God, he was really, finally here. A pang of sadness spread in his chest as his thoughts turned to his mother. She would have loved this. So often they had spoken about coming here. They saved and saved and saved to come here but... clearly his mother wasn't meant to make it. It was unfair. So fucking unfair. But Teddy knew, if his mother had been here, she would be scolding him for being sad and she would be telling him, just as she had at the hospital the previous year, "you go, Teddy. You go and enjoy it for the both of us. Promise me."

And he would. He would enjoy this place for the both of them. It was his promise. For every glorious old western movie his mother had ever introduced him to, for every night of his childhood he had spent curled up beside his mother staring at horses and guns and saloons and cowboys on their old TV set.

It was almost overwhelming really. He was walking down a corridor flanked by scenes from all his wildest dreams. He saw horses galloping across the desert landscape, great clouds of dust billowing in their wake. He saw a rugged cowboy tilting his hat to a pretty blonde woman, just like the cowboys in the movies. He saw a group of men gambling in a saloon. He saw people cow herding, riding horses, dancing, cheering, laughing, drinking, eating. Pastiches of every cowboy movie, every western fantasy just playing out around him. And soon, oh so very soon, Teddy would be stepping out into that world and experiencing it for himself, not just in his dreams, but in his reality.  

 _God, I'm such a nerd_ , he though to himself as a Cheshire-cat grin tore across his face.

They finally arrived at a door, which Angela held open for him. If the woman noticed his stupidly large grin she didn't mention it, though Teddy supposed she saw a lot of faces just as impressed as his was.

The room beyond the door was covered in black panels polished and shined to mirror-like perfection. The room was well lit, but much less blinding than the platform Teddy had arrived on. The walls of this room were adorned with a variety of clothes. Cowboy clothes, Teddy noted with a chill of excitement. Various colours and styles, different materials, different accessories. 

"All the clothes here are tailor-made to suit your measurements you sent over with your booking. Feel free to try on as many as you like until you find your perfect look," Angela said, before taking a step toward him. And another.

She now stood almost uncomfortably close to him as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"I can stay and help you get dressed," her voice low and flirty. Seductive, Teddy thought nervously, she's being seductive. 

But then she stepped back, allowing Teddy to regain his personal space. "Or," she continued, "I could step outside and give you some privacy..."

Teddy rubbed his hand against the back of his neck anxiously. "Erm..."

"Say no more, Mr Altman," Angela said, the politeness and professionalism back in her voice, not a single trace of the earlier seductiveness. With an acknowledging nod she stepped out of the room, leaving Teddy alone in his awkwardness. 

Holy shit, he thought to himself once the door had closed behind the woman. _S_ he was totally offering to... Jeez, customer service must really be a priority to these people...

And then a thought hit him. Was she real? This place was filled with robots, or Hosts as the website and ad campaign called them. What if she was one of them? Teddy had assumed she had been real because... Well, because she looked real and acted real, she just felt  _real._

Well fuck, the technology here really was beyond anything he had expected. He'd seen all the adverts and the brochures, yeah, but he'd still presumed he would be able to tell robot from human. But apparently not. 

He shook those thoughts from his head and turned his attention to the clothes. 

He tried on a few of the choices, modelling them awkwardly in front of the mirror. Just as Angela had said, the clothes fit him perfectly. Teddy was tall, broad shouldered, with an athletic, muscular build, and every single item of clothing complemented his body exquisitely. It was weird, but he decided it was a good kind of weird.

He finally settled on what he felt was a 'cool' look. Dark grey pants with a matching grey waistcoat on top of a black shirt. He then picked out a grey hat, and was bust trying to sit it at the right angle atop his head when Angela reentered the room.

"Wonderful," she said as she crossed the room toward him. "I would perhaps make just two adjustments," she added.

She unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt, exposing his bare chest. Teddy felt himself stiffen as she did so, feeling somewhat uncomfortable and hoping this wasn't the start of her seduction routine again. 

"There, much better. And here, try this..." she said as she handed him a dark green bandanna. "Green suits you."

Angela helped Teddy fix the bandanna about his neck, just like they wore them in the movies, wow. Teddy looked at himself in the mirror and  _holy shit_ he was a goddamn cowboy. Okay, he really needed to chill now, his face was practically split in half with his ridiculously excited grin.

"Now, on to weapons," Angela said, dragging Teddy from his embarrassingly obvious amazement.

Angela had made her way to the far side of the room where she stood beside a table that was covered with a range of guns and weapons as diverse and impressive as the array of clothing.

The belt Teddy had chosen for his outfit held two holsters, one at each hip, so he chose two simple revolvers. He left the knife range untouched. He didn't plan on this being a violent trip, but the guns were just too much a part of the whole Wild West experience to pass up on.

"Those guns are already loaded, but you'll have access to more ammunition within the park itself, don't worry," Angela explained.

"Right... and, err, the robots... they can..." Teddy didn't know how to ask what he wanted to ask, the very questioned seemed wildly insensitive.

"Hosts. We prefer the term Hosts. And yes, to answer your question, the Hosts can die, so to speak. But that's not a problem, the Host will be taken away by Tech Staff to be repaired and have their memory wiped. You can't do any permanent damage to any of the Hosts," Angela said. "Likewise, the Hosts cannot harm you. We use only the best technology here at Westworld. Many of the Hosts in the park aren't programmed to handle weapons, and the ones that are cannot kill you. You can be shot at, but the bullets will be slowed down. strict park policy. More like getting shot at a paint ball game. That way you can experience a sense of danger, really feel like you're living the experience of the park, but without having to face serious injury."

"Oh... wow, that's good."

"You may get the odd bruise or two, but Westworld is a safe environment where you can live out your wildest dreams and fantasies without fear of consequence."

Well, this was it, the experience of a life time lay ahead of him. It was hard to believe all this was real, but then technically it wasn't really  _real_  in a way.

"Now, do you have any other questions, Mr Altman?" Angela asked.

"Erm, so the ro- the Hosts, do they know that they're... Hosts? And what's the rules? Can I just talk to them and they can answer anything? Can they have conversations, or is it more like... scripted?" Teddy asked, questions stumbling over each other to get out of his mouth and get an answer first.

Angela smiled, kind and sweet and not condescending. Teddy kind of liked her, in all honesty. But that was her job after all, to be hospitable.

"The Hosts believe that they and the lives they lead in the park are real, and they are programmed to ignore any and all evidence that may suggest otherwise. And as for conversations, yes, you can talk to them about anything. The Hosts are able to maintain a conversation just as well as two human guests could. Though, of course, a conversation about anything from our modern world wouldn't make sense to a Host. But there's no script, the Hosts are programmed to be able to respond to any stimuli naturally, just as you or any guest would," Angela explained. Teddy wondered how many times she had to say these things all while not letting it show how boring she probably felt all this rule explaining was.

"Okay, last question... what exactly can I do in the park?" Teddy asked.

"Anything. Everything. Whatever you want. And you can do it with whoever you want. All the Hosts have their own narrative loops, repeating endlessly day after day unless a guest interrupts them. You can create your own adventure with any of the Hosts, or simply go along with their narrative. It's completely up to you. There is no guide book," Angela said before turning to face the a door Teddy hadn't taken notice of till this moment. "Through that door you'll enter the Mariposa, a saloon in the town of Sweetwater. It will be morning when you arrive. Enjoy your experience."

Teddy felt a tremor of nerves as he turned to face the door. This was it. He moved forward towards the door, pausing with his hand resting on the handle. He turned back to Angela, a question he couldn't shake arising within his mind once more.

"Sorry... are-are you real?" Teddy asked.

Angela tilted her head slightly and smiled at him. "If you can't tell, then what's the difference?"

***

Teddy stepped into the Mariposa and instantly it was as if he had stepped inside a movie. The whole place was bursting with life, a vibrating quality to the air that was instantaneously electrifying. Teddy made his way through the crowd of people, heading towards the bar because he knew the bartender would have to be a Host and he was itching to meet one. Well, to meet one for definite, it was still up in the air as to whether Angela had been a Host or not.

He slid himself onto a stool at the bar, where he finally laid eyes on the bartender. The man had a grey handlebar moustache and was currently serving a man at the opposite end of the bar to Teddy. Teddy found himself staring. He looked... normal? Human? Teddy didn't really know how to describe him. The Hosts were the best technology, constantly being updated and improved and perfected by a tireless team of workers day in day out. And of course the park advertised the fully life-like and realistic experience they offered but still, actually seeing a Host in real life, with full knowledge that what he was looking at was created in a high-tech laboratory, was mind-blowing.

Teddy's view of the bartender became suddenly obscured by a very elegant, very beautiful woman. She was dressed in a red and black, very revealing dress and her curled hair was twisted and pinned up on her head with an array of red feathers to finish of the look.

"Why don't you tell me what you're looking for, and we'll see if I can help you find it, shall we?" the woman said with a knowingly flirtatious tone. 

"I don't really know what I'm looking for, if I'm being honest," Teddy said.

"Well, here at the Mariposa we cater to _all_ tastes," she said. And then her lips spread into a mischievous smirk, "for the right price of course."

"Oh," Teddy said, clicking on to her meaning. Oh. "Erm, sorry but I'm not into..." women, Teddy wanted to say, but his voice faltered beneath the woman's unflinching gaze. It felt like she was peering deep within him. God, this was one intimidating woman.

And then she smiled, a knowing smile, as if she had just figured Teddy out completely.

"Not into women?"

Teddy nodded. He felt a warm blush spread across his cheeks, much to his own chagrin.

"No matter. Like I said, we cater to all tastes here," she said.

"Oh, erm, no, thank you, but... I mean, it's just..." Teddy's voice trailed off, his blush deepening. 

It wasn't that Teddy had any kind of personal prejudice against prostitutes, but the idea of paying someone to sleep with him made him feel awkward and self-conscious. In all honesty, Teddy knew he was good looking, or at least he was the typical idea of good looking. People often commented he had a handsome face, they complimented his athletic build, complimented his ever-ruffled blonde hair. But still, he'd grown up as a fairly geeky boy with a love for comic books, sci-fi, and the Wild West. He didn't have many friends until high school when he got involved with Actual Asshole Greg Norris. Greg was popular, adored by all, and Teddy spent day after day emulating him. He joined the basketball team, he trained endlessly at the gym to look like him, and they became friends and that was the key to Teddy's popularity. Not that it did him any good. Teddy had swore he'd never act like Greg again after they had a large falling out in their senior year. But the less said about that the better.

Greg was the kind of guy who walked with all the confidence in the world, if he saw somebody he was attracted to, he went for it. Teddy had never been like that, always fearful of rejection, always fearful of being seen as not good enough.

"What's your name?" she asked, her voice dragging him from his rueful reverie.

"Teddy, and you are?"

"Maeve. But my name doesn't matter, we're talking about  _you_. Your new, or at least I've never seen you around this town before, so I have some advice for you for while you're here. I can see it in your eyes, you're shy, there's something holding you back. When you see something you want you don't go for it because deep down you struggle to believe you deserve it. Does that sound like you?" She spoke with no malice in her voice, no negative insinuation. And the words struck true with Teddy.

"I'm just not that kind of guy," he said with a shrug he hoped came off as nonchalant, but likely came off as sad and resigned.

"We all have inhibitions, darling, every single one of us, but it's up to us if we are going to be ruled by them. I used to dream of so many things I wanted but there was always that little voice in the back of my head that said 'no, don't'. Don't ask that, don't say that, don't do that. And then I came here. And I just stopped listening to that little voice. I crossed the great sea and I realised that this was a new world. And in this world, you can be whoever the fuck you want."

And with that, Maeve turned and glided off into the room.

 _So, Teddy Altman, who do you want to be?_ he thought to himself.

And that was the question, wasn't it? This whole park was basically a real life role-playing game, and Teddy was completely free to be who he wanted.

Damn, he'd been here no more than ten minutes and, after a short conversation with a local prostitute, he already felt like he'd been thoroughly psychoanalysed. Maybe this trip was going to be more than just fake gunfights and horse riding after all?

***

Teddy made his way out of the Mariposa and stepped onto what he deduced was the main street of Sweetwater. And if he thought he'd been walking through a movie before, boy was he unprepared to face the full scale of an actual (well, sort of) Wild West town. As he looked from side to side he was, again, reminded of Angela's departing words. He  _really_ couldn't tell who was real and who wasn't.

He looked up to see blue skies forever, white clouds, and the burning light of the sun. Dust drifted through the air, kicked up by a passing horse, and the sounds of a bustling community greeted Teddy's ears. God, this place was amazing.

He'd been advised a good place to start his adventures was by stopping at the Sheriff's Station, where he could find a variety of bounty hunters looking to recruit help in tracking down wanted criminals for monetary reward. That, Teddy thought, seemed like the perfect gunslinging start to his Western adventure.

The Sheriff Station wasn't hard to find, there was a number of men stood around outside of it holding wanted posters and attempting to reel tourists into their missions. 

 _Just like NPC's in a video game_ , Teddy thought to himself with a small, appreciative chuckle.

"Young man, you haven't by chance happened upon this man here, have ya?" asked a short, balding man who held a poster in Teddy's direction. The man's face printed on the poster was of a rather handsome yet gruff looking criminal who whore a black hat and had a scar on his face.

"Oh, no, sorry," Teddy said.

"This here is Hector Escaton, most wanted bandit in these parts. You watch yourself if you ever come across him. This man is dangerous, though he's got one mighty big bounty on that head of his. Make sure you give me a call if you find yourself in knowledge of this man's whereabouts, wont ya?" the man said.

Teddy nodded, and with that the man had moved on to repeat his dialogue to another guest passing by. 

After hearing a few of the 'missions' or 'narratives' (Teddy still wasn't sure the correct nomenclature when it came to these... opportunities) Teddy found himself drawn to one offered by an older man who had told a tale of his daughter being kidnapped by bandits. It was a gut feeling that told Teddy that this is the kind of plot line that would appear in one of the movies he and his mother loved so dearly. 

The man instructed Teddy to drop by the general store to pick up some supplies such as food, rope, camping equipment, anything Teddy thought he may need while the man set about acquiring Teddy a horse for the journey. Teddy was hoping the clerk at the store would be able to advise him because he had no idea what he would be in need of for a mission to rescue someone from a group of bandits, but he reassured himself that no matter what happened out there no real harm could befall him.

He followed the man's directions to the general store and stepped inside. The store was huge, and from what Teddy could tell it seemed to sell just about everything one could need. He supposed that would be why it was called a general store, obviously.

Teddy looked over to the counter, where his glance was met with a pair of curiously watchful amber eyes. 

The eyes belonged to a thin young man, around the same age as Teddy or perhaps a year or two younger, with defined cheekbones and endearingly messy black hair that hung in fine strands at either side of those eyes that still lingered on Teddy. Teddy felt slightly awkward beneath the gaze, he averted his eyes back to the shelves beside him.

"Anything I can help you with?" the boy behind the counter asked, his voice casual and friendly.

 _Of course_ , Teddy thought,  _this guy is a Host, he's probably well adept at handling clueless guests who don't know where to begin_.

"Oh... erm, I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for to be honest..." Teddy said, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck in an awkward subconscious gesture.

"Don't worry about it, I can help. I haven't seen you around here before, you must be new. Is there anything specific you're in Sweetwater for? Maybe I can help you find what you need if I know your purpose here?" the boy said.

Teddy glanced back towards the counter. The boy's eyes still focused on him but his face was no longer curious, instead the boy now wore a friendly smile. Teddy felt a blush spread across his cheeks as he noticed just how cute the boy looked when he smiled.

"I'm just here for a while, passing through I suppose... Oh, I'm helping a man search for his daughter. She was taken by bandits," Teddy explained.

The boy's eyebrows rose.

"Well, there's  _always_ room for a hero here in Sweetwater!" the boy said, the admiration in his voice only serving to deepen Teddy's blush. 

"Yeah, hopefully... I was thinking I'll be needing food? And stuff to start a fire, maybe? And a tent? Stuff like that."

"Ah, you'll be wanting our Hero Starter Pack," the boy joked, with a slanted grin spreading across his face. he moved out from behind the counter and crossed the store to stand beside Teddy. He offered out his hand to Teddy, "the name's William Kaplan, but you can call me Billy. Only my mother calls me William," he added with a little laugh.

Billy's laugh had an infectious musicality to it and Teddy found himself unable to resist letting out a small laugh too.

"Cool, awesome to meet you. I'm Teddy Altman," Teddy said, taking Billy's hand and shaking it.

 _'Awesome to meet you'? Gee Teddy, way to ruin your chances of cultivating some kind of action hero persona, now he knows you're about as smooth as a Klingon's forehead,_ Teddy thought to himself as he felt his blush return.

Billy busied himself finding supplies for Teddy, who stood and watched. Billy knew what he was doing, he knew where to find everything, and everything he suggested seemed like exactly what Teddy may need. 

When they were finally done Teddy ducked his head of the store to see that the older man was waiting outside with the horse he had promised to acquire for him. Teddy also noted that the man had been joined by three other men who Teddy surmised were along for the ride too.

Billy helped Teddy carry his stuff out of the store and pack it onto his horse. Billy had recognised the older man and referred to him as Clarence and from listening to their conversation Teddy was able to infer that two of the three men that had recently joined the mission were also Hosts and the third addition was another guest like Teddy. 

Teddy and the other guest, a particularly muscular man with dark skin and a shaved head, exchanged nods of acknowledgement before Teddy's attention was suddenly pulled away by Billy who had appeared beside him once again. Billy was somewhat shorter than Teddy so as he smiled at him his head was tilted back slightly. Seeing the dark haired boy smiling up at him gave Teddy an odd, yet pleasantly warm sensation in his stomach. Not butterflies, but not something completely unlike their proverbial fluttering.

"When you've completed your heroics you should drop by here again, fill me in on all the brave details?" Billy said.

Perhaps it was just Teddy's imagination but he thought he sensed a trace of hope in the invitation. But then again, Billy was a Host so he was probably programmed to be welcoming and charming. God, he hadn't even been here a day and he was already getting sucked into the manufactured reality of this place, what kind of wreck would he be by the end of his stay here? He dreaded to think, and shook such thoughts from his head. So what if Billy was programmed to be nice? Teddy could still enjoy it, that was the whole point, wasn't it?

"Erm, yeah, sure, I'll make sure to come find you when I'm done," Teddy said, mirroring Billy's warm smile.

The smile on Billy's face faded as he noticed something beyond Teddy's shoulder. Teddy turned to see what had caught Billy's attention and caused the smile to slip from his soft features.

A tall, broad man with matted dark hair and heavy stubble stood some distance down the street staring directly at them. Teddy turned back to see that Billy's posture had completely changed. His shoulders had hunched forward and his head tilted down with not a single trace of his warm smile left on his face.

"Are you okay? Do you know that guy?" Teddy asked, not even trying to hide the concern in his voice.

"Oh, it's nothing," Billy said quietly before looking up and forcing a smile, "Now come on, you better get going. People to rescue, bandits to defeat and all that."

And then Billy was walking back toward his store, a little to fast for Teddy to believe any of his bravado in the face of the watching man.

"I'll come find you later, okay?" Teddy called after Billy, hoping to sound reassuring.

Billy smiled, not as brightly as before but it was a smile nonetheless. "Okay, see you around, Altman."

And then he was gone. Teddy looked back over his shoulder to see that the man had now turned his gaze to Teddy. The man tipped his hat to him before he turned and walked away.

"I wouldn't worry about that guy. Probably just some other plot." 

Teddy turned to see the voice belonged to the other guest in Clarence's rescue party.

"What do you mean?" Teddy asked as he mounted his horse and fell in step with the others as they began their ride out of town.

"Every damn Host has their own narrative loop, and they're all endlessly trying to suck every guest around them into their plot. That's just how this place works. I'm sure you'll find far better plots outside of town than whatever that tension was between Mr. Evil-Stare and the doe-eyed store clerk," said the other guest. "The name's Eli, by the way. Eli Bradley."

"Teddy Altman," he replied, completely ignoring Eli's other comments. Because, for whatever reason, Teddy  _did_ care about whatever that tension was.

Teddy found himself thinking of something his mother had told him once.  _'"You're too sweet for your own good sometimes, Theodore."_ She had said it with a fond smile, but Teddy knew the warning behind her words. Don't let your kindness be taken advantage of. It was good advice, but still, Teddy wasn't one to just "ignore" the way Billy's entire posture and behaviour had changed just from seeing that man. Whether Eli thought it was a boring plot or not, it didn't matter. And it didn't matter to Teddy that Billy was a robot. No, Teddy knew that as soon as he was done with Clarence's mission he would be riding right back to that store to find out what that tension had been about.

Maybe it would end up being a much more interesting 'narrative' than Eli had been willing to give credit for?

***

 The mission had been a success. Eli had taken charge when it came to planning their assault on the bandit's encampment, and he showed quite an impressive proficiency in both leadership and tactical planning skills so Teddy was more than happy to let Eli take the lead.

There was a shootout, because of course there was a shootout, and even though Teddy knew deep down he couldn't be seriously hurt he still felt that surge of adrenaline, still felt the rush of nerves, still heard a tiny voice screaming in his mind that he was being  _shot at_. And while he was hit with a bullet in his chest he felt like being shot with a paintball gun, not that that did much to assuage his nerves. 

One of the Hosts that had came along with Clarence's group was shot in the neck, the blood (so damn lifelike) sprayed forth in a scarlet fountain that splashed down on where Eli had crouched to avoid a particularly heavy hail of gunfire. But other than that, all the casualties had fallen on the side of the bandits, leaving a clear albeit bloody path for Clarence to reunite with his captive daughter. 

Teddy himself had landed a few shots, proving to be a better marksman than even he himself would have thought, but he targeted mostly legs and shoulders unlike Eli who had gone straight for kill-shots. Obviously when it came to bandits Eli's way was more efficient as shots to the legs allowed the men to keep shooting at them, but Teddy couldn't bring himself to kill. He knew that the bandits were robots but, in the same way he felt a sad sinking pity for whatever had made Billy's face drop back at the store, Teddy was unable to completely detach himself from just how real these Hosts were. It felt exactly like he was shooting at real people. Teddy supposed that was probably the point, and he knew had he been at home playing a video game he would have no problem shooting to kill enemies, but there's a rather large difference between killing pixels and killing something that looked and behaved like a living, breathing person.

Riding back into town was a triumphant affair. Teddy felt the flames of victory blooming in his chest as he and Eli chatted away excitedly about how the afternoon had been a pretty good way to start their respective experiences here in Westworld.

"I'm a little disappointed with how quickly it was over?" Eli said. "I mean, I got a tent and supplies and everything, and didn't even need them."

"Well, I suppose now you have them for whenever you do need them. There'll be plenty of time you can use them, lots of narratives'll stretch out beyond just an afternoon I presume," Teddy shrugged.

"True. I'm planning on heading out of town tomorrow I think, see what this place has to offer outside the beginners zone. Tent'll come in useful then I suppose. Feel free to tag along, man."

Teddy looked over at Eli, surprised by the invite. It was a genuine invite and Teddy really appreciated it.

"Thanks. Maybe I will," Teddy said with a smile.

Eli laughed, "I suppose neither of us know what'll happen when the sun goes down around here... I'm sure that's when all the real bad guys come out."

Teddy laughed in agreement, but it was a rather empty laugh, all he could think about was the way that man had been so intensely looking at Billy. It was a little ridiculous just how much he was thinking about the boy, but he couldn't help it.

 _I guess that's just the way I'm programmed_ , he thought with a chuckle.  _God, I'm such a nerd._

The group parted ways as they entered town, Clarence returned home with his very grateful daughter (who had privately offered both Teddy and Eli an invite back to her home in order to 'thank them properly', an offer which had been politely declined by both of them), while the other surviving Host, whose name Teddy couldn't recall, headed straight to the saloon to drown his grief over losing his friend.

Eli rode off in search of the inn he was staying at so he could change out of his blood-soaked clothes, luckily Teddy had been spared from such stains and was relatively clean with the exception of a few dirt marks and perhaps one or two tiny blood drops on the back of his waistcoat, but all of that could wait. Teddy knew exactly where he was going. 

When he arrived back at the store the sky was stained a fiery red and the air was filled with rambunctious, drunken singing echoing from the nearby Mariposa. Teddy dismounted his horse and tied him to the post outside the store beside what he presumed was Billy's horse.

He was quietly congratulating his horse on a job well done when a shadow fell over him. He turned to see the man from earlier that day, his stern stare fixed on Teddy with an uncomfortable intensity. After a moment that felt like an hour the man's face split into a smile, though it brought no comfort to Teddy.

"Name's Kesler. Seen you here this morning, now you're back," the man said.

Teddy shrugged. So what?

"I was just thinking maybe you'd wanna know what kinda twisted shit is hiding behind them doors over there," Kesler said, nodding over to the general store.

"What are you talking about?" Teddy asked.

"Kid that works in there is the son of a witch. He gotta have some of her witch blood in him, right?" Kesler shrugged casually. "There's something not right about that boy, so you better watch the company you chose to keep. You're new here, thought I'd do the good thing and give you a warning. That boy is bad news. I knew it from the way he used to look at me. Not right. Not good."

"Right. Okay," Teddy said as bluntly as possible as he shoved his way past Kesler toward the store.

"You're making a mistake, my friend," Kesler called.

 _Yeah, whatever,_ Teddy thought as he barged into the store. 

The boy behind the counter looked up towards the entrance, amber eyes wide with fear. Teddy felt a warmth spread in his stomach as Billy's expression softened into a smile upon recognising the sudden entrant into the store.

"You're back!" Billy cried out merrily. "How was it? Well, obviously it was successful because you're stood here, but how did it go? How does it feel to return to town as a hero?"

Teddy felt himself blushing at Billy's happy rambling. But then he recalled his encounter with Kesler and he felt his smile vanish.

"I just ran in to some guy named Kesler," Teddy said, stepping toward the counter. 

Now it was the turn of Billy's smile to vanish. And Teddy instantly wished it would return.

"Oh..." Billy said quietly, barely more than a whisper. "It's fine, I understand..."

"Understand what?" Teddy asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"You spoke to Kesler, he told you... whatever it was he told you, and now you've come to warn me to stay away. Well, message received. I get it. Just... please don't mess up the store, okay?" Billy said. The heavy sadness in his voice mixed with the resignation in his face made Teddy's stomach twist into knots.

"What? No, no, I'm not here to mess up your store and tell you to stay away from me. I'm here to check... to see if you're okay."

"Oh," was all Billy managed to respond. His face contorted in confusion before finally settling into a sad smile. 

"So why does this guy hate you? If you don't mind me asking," Teddy said, offering a smile he hoped came across as reassuring.

"His mother hates my mother. She was always resentful of how my mother got more male attention, hoe my mother's house was always tidier than hers, just stupid things like that. So Kesler's mother started a rumour that my mother was a witch. Nobody really believes it of course, but it hurt my mother all the same. And a while ago I guess I kind of..." Billy's eyes studied Teddy a moment, hesitating before he continued, "I guess I kind of took a liking to Kesler, if you catch my meaning... and Kesler didn't like that. Not at all. He's had it out for me ever since."

Was Billy suggesting he had had feelings for Kesler? That seemed to be the only conclusion Teddy could draw from what he had been told. Did each Host have a programmed sexuality? And if so, why would there be a Host be programmed to have homophobic attitudes? Surely that would be detrimental to the enjoyment of the park for any guests who weren't straight. Like Teddy himself, for example.

And then it clicked. Teddy could almost feel the little light bulb going off above his head like in childhood cartoons. The park was full of plots and narratives for the guests to engage with, and Teddy was pretty sure he had just figured out what this one was. The homophobic asshole, and the sweet victim. It was the set up for a revenge fantasy for anyone who'd ever encountered a homophobic bully, all while giving a chance for the guest to feel like a hero too. Damn, this place was good.

"That guy is an asshole," Teddy said plainly.

"Yeah, well that asshole has dangerous friends. And I've had a feeling they've just been waiting for their chance to do something. I just know it," Billy said, his voice dripping with dread and worry.

"Well, when you're done here I'll escort you home, how's that?" Teddy offered.

He felt pretty damn sure he'd have no problem shooting Kesler. Ever since his falling out with his high school best friend Greg Norris he'd had no time to waste with homophobes, particularly ones of the violent variety.

"Oh, you'd do that? Are you sure?" 

"Of course, don't worry. Teddy Altman, local hero, at your service," Teddy said with a laugh and a joking bow, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. Much to Teddy's delight the warm, bright smile from that morning returned to Billy's face as he chuckled.

"Well how could I resist such an offer, I'd be honoured to be your damsel in distress," Billy laughed, mimicking Teddy's bow.

 Billy decided to close up early, saying that he didn't want to keep Teddy waiting around too long but Teddy got the feeling Billy was just anxious to get home, not that Teddy blamed him.

It was dark by the time the two of them left the store, only the final few streaks of light left to slowly sink below the horizon. Teddy glanced both ways down the street but couldn't spot Kesler nearby. The street was just as bust as it was during daytime, though with a considerably higher amount of drunkards staggering around.

The pair mounted their horses and set off.

There was little chatter between the two as they rode out of town, the both of them glancing nervously over their shoulders to check that they were not being followed. But they weren't.

It turned out, however, that danger was ahead of them not behind them.

It was Teddy who spotted them first, Billy still peering into the darkness behind them as they approached his house. Two dark figures stood outside of Billy's home. Waiting. 

"Kesler." It was just a whisper, barely audibly above the breeze, but Teddy heard the word that slipped from Billy's lips as he turned and spotted the dark figures too.

"You don't happen to have a gun by any chance?" Teddy asked, his hand closing around his own pistol at his hip.

"No, I don't... sorry," Billy muttered.

"Then stay back, okay? I'm pretty sure they're not here to talk," Teddy said, lowering his voice to a whisper as they approached closer.

Billy slowed his horse so that he fell in step behind Teddy, who squared his shoulders and straightened his posture in an attempt to appear as threatening as possible. He really hoped it wouldn't come to violence, but he knew men like Kesler, he knew that violence was the only language they truly relied on.

"Is there a problem here?" Teddy called as they closed the distance between them and Kesler's group.

Teddy noted that the man with Kesler had the lower half of his face covered with a bandanna. Coward.

"Looks like you can't take good advice, huh?" Kesler said, a wicked grin pasted on his face. "What, you're gonna protect him? Is that what's gonna happen?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what's going to happen," Teddy said.

Kesler laughed. "No. Let me tell you what's going to happen," he said, and with that he whistled loudly.

The door to Billy's house swung open and a third figure emerged, his face also covered with a bandanna, dragging a woman violently behind him by her long hair. Hair the same colour as Billy's. Amber eyes wide with fear. Just like Billy's.

If the eyes and the hair didn't give away her identity, then the horrified gasp from the boy beside him did. This was Billy's mother.

Then, before Teddy could react, Billy threw himself from his horse and made to run toward his mother. Kesler simply lifted his arm and aimed his pistol at Billy's mother's head, stopping Billy in his tracks.

"Not so fast," Kesler said, before turning to the man who had kept a tight grip on the woman's hair, "you got the father?"

"Yeah, course I did," the man replied.

"You killed him?" Billy demanded, his voice wavering.

"No, not yet, just tied him up so he won't be a bother," Kesler said.

"What do you want?" Teddy snapped.

"Him," Kesler said, turning to look directly at Billy, "we want you, Billy. Come with us and your family will be unharmed. And tell your protector to fuck off."

"Billy, don't even think about it," Teddy cried.

Billy turned to look at Teddy, tears just beginning to spill down his cheeks.

"I have to," he said. And his voice was so small, so weak, it broke Teddy's heart.

 _Fuck this_ , Teddy thought. And he drew his own gun, aiming it right at Kesler.

Kesler laughed. An arrogant sound that vanished any doubt Teddy might have had about killing him should he bring harm to Billy or Billy's mother.

"Looks like our mysterious stranger has come to play," Kesler smirked.

Kesler pulled back the hammer of his pistol, and Teddy moved on pure impulse. The smallest movement triggering his body's fight or flight instinct. And his body chose fight.

Teddy's gun fired, the bullet speeding forth and puncturing the arm that Kesler held the gun aiming at Billy' mother. A spray of blood and a cry of pain exploded into the night.

Teddy turned his gun fast on the man beside Kesler and pulled the trigger as the man was reaching for his own pistol. The bullet piercing his chest, and his body collapsed to the ground in a heap of limbs.

And then there was a gunshot. And a scream. And Teddy span around to see Billy's mother collapsing to the ground, limp and lifeless. 

Kesler. While Teddy was distracted by dealing with one of his cronies, Kesler had murdered Billy's mother. His arm was bleeding heavily, and he held his gun awkwardly in his left hand, but the damage was done.

Kesler's remaining ally had his pistol aimed at Billy, who had collapsed to his knees and burst into heart-wrenching sobs. Teddy wanted to run to him, to sweep him up into his arms and just hold him, but he couldn't move, didn't dare to lest he trigger any further violence.

"Okay, you shot me, you killed one of my men, fair play to you, but you've done enough fucking damage for one night. Turn around and leave. While you still can," Kesler spat angrily.

Teddy said nothing. He needed to act. Fast. But what could he do? Two against one. If he shot Kesler then his crony would shoot Billy. If he shot the guy aiming at Billy then Kesler would shoot him.

 _Oh fuck, of course!_ Teddy realised. Hosts can't kill a human. Shit. In the panic he'd forgotten that these men were nothing more than robots.

Teddy shifted the aim of his pistol and shot Kesler's crony in his stomach. And then Kesler fired his gun, the bullet hit Teddy square in his chest and the force of it knocked Teddy off his horse. He collided with the ground hard and fast.

Billy screamed. Teddy couldn't be sure but he thought it was perhaps his name that Billy had screamed.

Teddy was winded, and his back was in agony, but otherwise he was unharmed. 

Kesler stomped over to Billy and grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him up onto his feet so that their faces were practically touching. Teddy saw how small and helpless Billy appeared beside the sheer brute strength of Kesler. Fuck. He  _had_ to move.

Teddy forced himself to sit up, grimacing as pain wracked his whole body in protest of the movement.

"Listen here you little fuck, this is your fault, okay? You hear me, you pathetic little shit?" Kesler screamed into Billy's face. "Two of my men, goodmen, damn fucking good men, are dead because of  _you_."

And then Kesler threw Billy back to the ground. Billy merely groaning in pain, unable to vocalise any semblance of a response.

Teddy looked for his gun, having apparently dropped it in his fall from the horse. There it was. He reached for it, trying to keep his movements as unnoticeable as possible. The element of surprise would be his best shot at getting the advantage over Kesler, especially since Billy was still at Kesler's mercy.

"Do you know what's gonna happen now?" Kesler asked, gun pointed at Billy, "You're going to fucking burn."

"No, he's not," Teddy shouted once he had dragged himself to his feet. And then he shot Kesler. Twice. Right in his chest, his body buckling to the ground ungracefully. 

Billy cried out as blood sprayed across his face.

Teddy rushed to him, scooping him up into his arms.

"Teddy..." Billy said, his voice croaky and unsteady, "Th-thank you..."

And then Teddy became aware of a warm dampness spreading against his body. He looked down and grimaced.

A scarlet flower bloomed on Billy's shirt. Shit. Kesler. Kesler must have fired his gun when Teddy shot him.

"Billy! Billy, no!" Teddy shouted. But his cries rang empty in the night.

Billy was dead.

And Teddy was alone, surrounded by death. His head filled with Billy. With memories of his mother laying pale and weak in her hospital bed. And then he was crying, clutching Billy's limp body close to him, and weeping heavy and silent tears.

***

Teddy had no idea how long he sat there, cradling Billy in his arms, but it felt like forever. He'd long stopped crying by the time the tech team showed up to collect the bodies.

They were dressed in white hazmat-like suits, which Teddy noted as unusual, but didn't bother to inquire about them.

The team was lead by a short woman, not wearing one of the white suits. She had dark hair held back in a ponytail and held a tablet device whose screen reflected in her glasses. 

The woman glanced over at Teddy, a sympathetic expression on her face. Teddy wished she would just leave him alone but she approached him, crouching beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Theodore Altman, right?" she said.

Teddy looked at her, puzzled. How did she know his name?

"It's on here," she said, nodding at her device, "so we can see which guests are in the area when we come to collect bodies."

"T-Teddy. Teddy is fine," Teddy said, speaking for the first time in a while. His voice quieter than he anticipated.

"I'm Elsie Hughes, I'm a programmer, Behaviour and Diagnostics department," she explained. "It's pretty traumatic the first time you see a Host killed, huh? Everyone reacts in different ways, but don't worry, we're gonna take them down to the lab, get 'em fixed up and they'll back back out by sunrise. None of them will remember any of this."

No, maybe they wouldn't. But Teddy would.

Elsie looked down at Billy. "This one is assigned to work at the General Store. You can drop by there tomorrow, and you'll see he'll be totally fine. Not a single mark on him physically, and not a single memory of all this. No trauma. Lucky him, I suppose, getting to forget all the violence and the heartache."

"And... and he'll just be fine? After all of this?" Teddy asked, gesturing to the remains of the chaos around him.

"Absolutely. This one's been through worse than this in its time in the park," she said, indicating Billy.

 _It_. She called Billy it. Because he's a Host. A robot. Oh god.

And then Teddy was laughing. Not because he found anything particularly funny, but because he didn't know how else to react. Here he was, cradling the bloodied body of a robot in his arms as if it was a person he'd known for years. 

"I guess this is pretty pathetic, huh?" Teddy asked.

Elsie shook her head.

"Nah, trust me, I've seen worse. The Hosts are designed to be indistinguishable from humans, that's the point. I guess it's a good thing you're affected by it this way. Some guests don't give a shit," she said matter-of-factly. "But we do need you to let go of the Host. So we can take him and get him fixed up."

"Right, yeah, of course. Sorry," Teddy said, letting go of Billy and slowly rising to his feet.

"Well, get yourself back to town, Mr Altman, get cleaned up and sleep this all off. By morning everything will be back to how it was before all of this happened," Elsie said with a smile.

And then she was gone, moving off to supervise the collection of the bodies. 

And Teddy left too, riding back to town with a heavy heart and aching limbs. The woman was right, of course, these Hosts saw violence day after day after day. They would be fixed and have their memories wiped and then it would be life as normal. But that wasn't much comfort. Teddy felt like he had made a connection to Billy, the kind of connection he hadn't made since high school, the kind of connection he had feared he would never make again after his mother's death. And Teddy didn't care how stupid it seemed that he had made this connection with someone who wasn't real, the connection  _felt_ real to Teddy. And he was sure that Billy felt it too, the way he smiled and relaxed when he saw that Teddy had returned, it didn't matter to Teddy that Billy was likely programmed to connect with guests. Teddy didn't care at all. It felt real, and it felt important, and it really fucking hurt that right now, as Teddy rode towards his inn in Sweetwater, that that connection was being wiped from Billy's mind and that tomorrow he would have to begin all over again. 

But he would. Teddy knew he would do it all again tomorrow. Because he realised the real reason he was here in Westworld, something he knew about but pushed to the back of his mind. He told himself he was here to reconnect with the childhood joy he had shared with his mother through their love of Western movies and, yeah, that was true, but there was something deeper. Something Teddy had struggled to face until now. Because it was hard to admit just how fucking lonely he had been before, and it was hard to admit that losing his mother meant losing the only person Teddy really had. It meant losing that feeling of being 'home' in their shared apartment. It meant a lot of things Teddy didn't like to dwell on, but here in the manufactured desert, surrounded by blood and death, he had had no choice but to face his reality as it crashed down upon him.

Ever since his mother's death Teddy had been looking for a reason to live. And he thought maybe, just maybe, Billy Kaplan could be the one to help him find it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! It really means a lot!
> 
> Any questions, observations, critiques, corrections etc, are very very welcome, don't be shy! I can only improve if people point out any errors or mistakes! :)
> 
> I hope to update with the next chapter soon!!
> 
> Next Time: Teddy tries to reestablish his bond with Billy. A meeting with a local rancher's daughter sparks something strange in Billy. And Teddy meets a couple visiting Westworld, and finds one of them looks practically identical to Billy. Mystery and adventure ensues.


	2. Dasein

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As always, criticism and feedback are hugely appreciated.

Billy Kaplan awoke from deep and dreamless slumber. 

The warm light of morning was drifting through his window in glorious slants of gold. Motes of dust danced in the light, drifting serenely as Billy stared at them. In moments like this he could almost believe there was a sentience to the dust, the way it meandered through the air. He knew, of course, that these were the errant thoughts of a mind still clinging to the last tendrils of sleep, but he couldn't help smile at the thought nonetheless.

Billy slipped from his bed and dressed himself before heading into the kitchen to greet his mother with a kiss on her cheek.

"Mornin'," he said with a cheery singsong quality to his voice as he slid onto a chair at the table.

"Mornin'," she said back as she placed breakfast before her son, "Your father has already left for town, said he gotta go see about gettin' a dog to keep lookout. You know how he worries himself sick about bandits comin' down from the hills."

Billy let out a small chuckle. His father sure did worry.

"We've lived here my whole life and not once have I seen any bandits come by our place," he said.

"I know, I know, but you know how your father gets. There's no arguing with that man once he sets his mind on something," his mother said, once again busying herself around the kitchen. "You know he's only looking out for us, William."

Billy smiled. 

Once he had ate his breakfast and said goodbye to his mother he set off into a brand new day.

***

Billy arrived into town on time, as he did every morning, and swung himself down from his horse. He glanced around the street as he tied the reigns to the post outside of the store and he caught sight of Dolores Abernathy stood motionless in the centre of the main street and just staring off into the distance with a blank expression on her face.

The Abernathy's owned a ranch outside of town, Billy and Dolores' fathers would often drink together but though their father's shared a friendship Dolores was a girl that liked to keep herself to herself and so Billy didn't particularly know her that well. However, it didn't take a close friend to realise that this was out of character behaviour. 

Billy crossed the street and approached her, though she didn't move or even acknowledge his presence. She stood motionless like a statue, her long straw-coloured hair fluttering in the light breeze. 

"Dolores? Is there something wrong?" Billy asked softly.

She turned her head, looking directly at him, her blank expression shifting into one of perplexity. It was almost as if she didn't recognise him, nor did she seem to know where she was. Billy wondered if perhaps she was sleepwalking, if it was at all possible for one to sleep walk all the way to town from Abernathy Ranch.

"Dolores?" Billy repeated, struggling with whether or not to reach out and place a comforting hand upon her shoulder. He decided against it, though, as he did not wish to startle her in her dazed state.

And then her eyes focused, as if she was suddenly completely lucid.

"These violent delights have violent ends," she said.

Billy hadn't even begun to register her words before she turned and walked away down the street as if their interaction had never taken place.

 _Odd_ , Billy thought. There was something about her words that struck him. He couldn't quite describe the feeling that washed over him as those strange words slithered into his ears, but he supposed he probably looked an awful lot like Dolores had, stood in the middle of the street alone and perplexed.

He turned and walked slowly back to the store, he felt as if he was walking through water, as if the very air was thickening around his limbs and a veil of mist was descending in his mind.

He entered the store and slid himself onto his usual seat on the stool behind the counter. As was always the case so early in the morning there were no customers, which Billy was silently thankful for. He just wanted to sit quietly and try to rid himself of this strange feeling. A feeling which his vocabulary could not provide a suitable name for. All that ran through his head were Dolores' words.

 _These violent delights have violent ends_.

***

Billy did not recall falling asleep. In fact, to begin with he did not even know he was in a dream.

He found himself stood before his house. It was night, a chill darkness wrapping around him. And beside him lay the bleeding body of his mother. Dead.

And then everything changed. He was stood before his house once more, this time his mother was alive and screaming. And Billy was burning.

And then there was a voice in the air. A male voice, deep and authoritative. A voice that was not his own, nor of any man Billy could recall.

"Remember," the voice said. "Remember."

And with that Billy awoke, shaking and breathless.

 _Dreams_ , he told himself,  _they were only dreams_.

But something within him, something deep down, told him different. These strange flashes were more than dreams. They felt far to real to be dreams. He had felt the cold air of the night, he could smell the sickly scent of burning flesh.

Never had his dreams been filled with such violence. Although, come to think of it, Billy could not recall a single dream in his life...

He shook these thoughts from his head as the door opened and the bell heralded his first customer of the day.

* * *

 

Teddy Altman awoke from dreams haunted by blood and amber eyes.

His limbs sprawled haphazardly on his bed, which was comfortable enough but no real comfort for his restless night.

He forced himself to sit up, his back throbbing in protest, still pained from the fall from his horse the previous night. Today would be a long day but, as his mother always said, no use in dwelling in self pity, so he dragged himself out of his bed and stumbled over to the large mirror in his room.

He looked long at his reflection. A dark bruise had blossomed across his back and upon the side of his left rib cage from his fall, and there was a smaller bruise on his chest from where Kesler had shot him.

He dressed himself as quickly as he could, impatient to get over to the general store and see for himself that Billy would really be there. Unharmed. Alive.

It's not that he thought the tech team would lie to him, and with the high level of technology this park boasted it was completely believable that the Hosts could be completely repaired in a swift and efficient manner. It was just that... Teddy had _seen_  Billy die. He'd felt his blood, saw the lucidity fade from his eyes. It was all just so damn REAL.

Well, you get what you pay for, Teddy supposed. And considering the high booking fees for this place he really shouldn't have been surprised at just how realistic things were here.

***

Teddy arrived at the store by late morning and saw, to his relief, Billy's horse (the exact same one as yesterday, he noted) tied to the post outside. He swung himself from his own horse and tied it to the post beside Billy's horse, and without further hesitation he slipped inside the store.

And there he was. Just as he had been the previous day. Dark hair and amber eyes filled with curiosity.

"Hi," Teddy said, his voice coming out quieter than he had intended.

Billy regarded him with a puzzled expression, eyes intently focused on him.

"Are you okay?" Teddy asked.

Billy blinked and smiled. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a weird feeling."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I thought I recognised you for a moment."

Teddy felt his heart skip a beat. Wasn't Billy supposed to have had his memory wiped?

"And do you?" Teddy asked, stepping closer to the counter.

"No... sorry, I've been feeling strange all day," Billy said, his brows furrowing.

"I'm Teddy by the way," he said as he offered his hand to Billy.

"Oh..." Billy said, his eyebrows rising in surprise, "I'm William Kaplan, but you can call me Billy. Only my mother calls me William." 

A sense of déjà vu descended on Teddy, it was weird to be introducing himself to someone he'd already met. Someone that had died in his arms.

"Awesome to meet you, Billy," Teddy said. He smiled at Billy who, in turn, also smiled.

And they stayed like that for a moment, hands clasped over the counter and smiles splitting their faces.

"So, what can I help you with?" Billy asked, breaking the peace of the moment.

"Huh?" Teddy dropped his hand back to his side, and told himself he must have been imagining the fleeting look of disappointment that he thought flashed across Billy's face as their contact was broken.

"What did you come into the store for? I can help you look for something if you can't find what you're wanting."

"Oh... yeah, erm..." Oh crap, Teddy had been so hasty to get to the store and see Billy that he hadn't even thought of a reason as to why he would go into the store that wouldn't seem weird to Billy. There was nothing Teddy needed since he had already gotten the supplies and equipment he needed the day before.

And then inspiration struck him. "Oh, I was wondering if you could show me around... or something... You know, kinda like a guide? I'm new here so..."

Billy studied him a moment, Teddy felt a blush creep across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I mean, you don't have to. I just thought you'd probably know the place pretty well, like, maybe you could show me some cool sights around here?" Teddy added, feeling his awkwardness grow the more Billy looked at him without answering.

"Well, I have to work but... I suppose I could meet you afterwards? There's a lot of places to see that most visitors don't get to see," Billy said. "Well, most visitors probably never see anything outside the walls of the Mariposa," he added with a little laugh.

"Great, yeah, that'd be good. Thanks," Teddy said, relief washing over him.

And so the pair made plans to meet at the bar of the Mariposa once Billy had finished work, where they would discuss possible places and sights to travel to. Teddy hoped that Billy would accompany him on such adventures, but he couldn't know for sure. Teddy knew that Hosts could be taken from their assigned narrative loops via interruption from any of the guests, but he presumed there would be need for Billy to remain in the store to serve other guests. Though, of course, Billy could just simply be replaced by another Host in his absence, Teddy supposed.

Teddy left the store with a satisfied smile on his face, giving no thought to the fact that although he had been told Billy's memory of the previous day would be wiped Billy had seemed to think he recognised Teddy. It was strange for sure, but Teddy's head was too filled with excitement over meeting Billy later that day to dwell on what seemed like such a tiny issue.

***

Teddy decided to head over to the Mariposa to see if he could find Eli to tell him about the events of the previous night. At least that's what he told himself. He certainly wasn't heading over there to wait for Billy... he wasn't that sad, right?

Well, maybe he was, but he had time to waste and the Mariposa seemed like the best place to waste it. Teddy thought it would be a good place to meet various people, hear some stories from guest and Host alike.

Teddy stepped inside and scanned for a glimpse of Eli but couldn't spot him, not that he was surprised by that. Eli had probably already left town on some kind of adventure. Teddy had been invited to join Eli during the mission the previous day and while Teddy had expressed interest he was pretty sure Eli wouldn't have waited for him to show up around town for too long. Teddy wasn't too disappointed, he had planned to find Billy and therefore getting involved in an adventure that could have taken who knows how long and taken him to who knows where wasn't really on his itinerary, but Teddy couldn't deny being a little disappointed that the first (and so far only) human connection he had made in the park had most likely fizzled out to nothing.

He found a vacant stool at the bar and sat down, taking another look around the saloon just to check for sure that Eli was not inside. He wasn't.

Teddy wasn't alone for long before someone leaned against the bar beside him. He looked up to see a young woman around his age with long dark hair readjusting her purple neckerchief. 

"A whiskey please," she said to the barman, "and one for the blonde to my left."

Teddy raised an eyebrow. The young woman turned to look at him.

"If you're going to sit at a bar by yourself then you should at least be drinking," she said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, I'm waiting for a friend..." Teddy said, as if in explanation. Conveniently leaving out the fact he would be waiting for said friend for quite some time yet.

"Well, you can still wait for your friend but now you have a drink to keep you company till they arrive," she said as the barman slid the two drinks towards them.

The young woman was studying Teddy closely, her head tilted slightly. Teddy felt himself blush beneath her scrutiny, it was as if he was some kind of antique she was appraising.

"Do you own a television?" she asked.

"What? Oh, erm, yeah... I do?" Teddy asked, more puzzled than before.

"Ah. So you're not one of them then," she said, nodding in the direction of the barman who was now serving another customer at the opposite end of the bar.

"Oh, no, no I'm a guest. Human."

"Same here. Sorry about the weird question by the way. They're programmed not to be aware of anything modern or out of place in this world. I asked one of them about a television and she just furrowed her brow at me as if I was speaking gibberish," the woman explained.

"Ah, so you just go around asking people if they own televisions?" Teddy asked with a chuckle.

The woman swallowed a large mouthful of her whiskey before answering. "Yeah, and it works pretty well. If they're confused: robot. If they know what a television is: human. Easy," she said. "Plus, I find it a little rude to just waltz up to someone and straight up ask if they're real, you know?"

Teddy nodded, taking a sip of his own drink. He grimaced as the brown liquid burned his throat as he swallowed. He never was a fan of whiskey. He remembered one evening when his mother had let him take a sip of her whiskey as the two of them watched 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. He remembered the way she laughed as he spat it back out into her glass. That was before she got ill. His mother never laughed the same after she got ill. She still laughed of course, but Teddy sensed a change in the sound, a change that he couldn't quite explain but a change that broke his heart nonetheless.

He was pulled from his memories by the sound of the young woman's empty glass slamming down on the bar.

"You been here long?" she asked him.

"Not really, got here yesterday. You?"

"Just arrived. Fresh from costume and orientation. Hey, did the Host showing you where to go flirt with you?"

"Oh yeah, she asked if I needed help changing," Teddy recalled with a laugh.

"Oh god, same with me. That's so weird they programme the ones that welcome us to the park to be all... seductive."

"Sex sells I suppose?" Teddy said.

"That's true. I mean the first place you step into in this park is basically a brothel," she laughed.

"You here alone?" Teddy asked, hoping the question sounded casual and not creepily flirtatious which was certainly not his intention.

"No, I'm here with my boyfriend - but don't tell him you heard me call him that!" she laughed. "He's still backstage or whatever you call the place with the clothes and weapons. Probably spraying his shorts with excitement about all the guns," she said, exaggeratedly rolling her eyes.

Teddy chuckled, and then forced another sip of whiskey down his throat.

"I'm Kate by the way," she said, offering Teddy her hand.

Teddy shook her outstretched hand. "Teddy. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kate said with a smile. "So, Teddy, this friend your waiting for, a girlfriend or just a friend friend?"

"Oh... it's a guy," Teddy said. He wasn't sure why but for some reason he felt too embarrassed to admit he was waiting for a Host.

"Okay, well guy friend or boyfriend?" she asked.

"Just a guy friend I guess, we only met yesterday," Teddy explained.

Kate raised an eyebrow suggestively and Teddy laughed. 

"Well good luck with your conquest, cowboy," Kate winked.

Teddy felt himself blushing. "No, no it's... it's nothing like that!"

"Sorry, Teddy, but that lovely shade of pink on your cheeks says otherwise."

Oh great, now his cheeks were practically burning. 

And then an excited voice cut above the general din of the saloon. A voice going so fast that the words seemed to crash into each other.

"Katekatelookathowcooltheseare!"

Teddy and Kate turned in unison to face the oncoming hurricane and Teddy saw that it was... Billy?

No, no it couldn't be Billy, the young man in front of him was wearing a different outfit than Billy had been and, more significantly, this person had a shock of platinum hair as opposed to Billy's dark hair and. But other than that Teddy was staring into the face of Billy Kaplan.

The young man - Not Billy - was holding two large pistols in his hands and pointing them at Kate. His posture mimicking the pose of many a Western gunslinger.

Kate turned to look at Teddy, rolling her eyes again.

"This would be the guy I was telling you about," she said before turning back to Not Billy, "Hey, Tommy, this is Teddy."

Not Billy, or Tommy as he was apparently called, gave Teddy a brief nod of acknowledgement.

"Hey, dude," he said before turning back to Kate. "Kate, look how awesome these guns are! Come on I wanna go shoot something."

And with that Tommy grabbed Kate's hand and sped away.

"Hope to see you around!" Kate called as she was dragged away by Tommy.

It took Teddy a moment to register their departure. It had all been such a whirlwind. That guy looked EXACTLY like Billy... literally, with the exception of the platinum hair, the two were identical. Teddy would have guessed Tommy was just another Host but Kate had called him her boyfriend and had said he had entered the park the same way Teddy did. 

_What the hell?_

Teddy rose from his seat, he decided to follow the two and maybe they would be able to enlighten him. Teddy made after them, leaving his half-drunk whiskey abandoned at the bar.

He wove his way through the crowd and stepped out into the street, scanning both ways for the duo. He caught sight of Tommy, his bright platinum hair standing out rather helpfully for Teddy. Tommy and Kate were walking swiftly away, towards the Sheriff Station in search of a bounty mission Teddy guessed, and Teddy had just begun to jog after them when he heard the first gunshot from behind him.

He whipped around and saw a group of people on horses with blankets hooded over their heads, concealing their faces. The gunshot had come from the man leading the group and Teddy saw the body of a lawman sprawled on the floor.

It was as if the whole street was frozen, and Teddy could feel a buzzing in the air, the entire world around him balanced on the precipice of violence.

And then, with a strange grace, the riders threw off their respective hoods and the chaos began. They fired into the crowd, many people scattering to hide though a few stood their ground to take on the band of outlaws. Teddy noticed an unusual amount of people who stood watching from a safe distance watching with excitement. Guests, Teddy realised, watching the show with the knowledge that no harm could befall them. This was entertainment, Teddy realised, like a parade at Disneyland.

Teddy felt himself laugh as he calmed down. The gunshots had taken him by surprise and for a moment he had been lost in the sense of danger. But of course there was no danger, not to the guests. This was obviously a scripted event to make the Westworld experience feel realistic. A good old shootout. 

Some of the guests had joined in with the shooting, while some of the riders had entered the Mariposa, looking for a safe full of money or gold no doubt.

Teddy turned back around to see if he could still see Tommy and Kate. Surely Tommy, so excited to shoot something, wouldn't be missing this shootout, right?

Wrong. Teddy couldn't see them. Shit. He'd lost them, and who knew if he'd ever see them again. He didn't know how long they would be staying in Westworld, and he didn't know if the two would leave Sweetwater on some adventure or another and just never return till it was time for them to leave. 

He'd probably never understand how the platinum-haired guest bared such a startling resemblance to Billy, a Host. 

 _Oh shit_ , Teddy thought,  _Billy!_

Sure, this shootout was a bit of lively fun without any real danger to the guests but, as the bodies falling to the ground proved, this shootout was dangerous to Hosts. And Billy's store was on the opposite side of the street to the Mariposa. Sure, the outlaws seemed to be intent on robbing the Mariposa but what was to say the event wouldn't spread to nearby establishments?

Teddy headed to the store, making sure to give a wide berth to the riders that guarded the entrance to the Mariposa, gunshots still echoing loudly through the air. 

He made to open the door but it was locked. That was a good sign, right? Yeah, it had to be, Billy had locked himself inside the store. Good.

Teddy pounded on the door. "Billy! It's me, open up!"

Much to Teddy's relief he heard the sound of the door lock clunking open. The door opened and a hand shot out to grab Teddy by his waistcoat and drag him inside, the door slamming closed behind him.

"What are you doing out there? Are you trying to get shot?!" Billy asked as his fingers hurried to re-lock the door. As if a lock would keep out a band of outlaws if they decided they wanted to get in here, luckily they seemed to be set on robbing just the Mariposa.

"I was- I came for you, erm, to make sure you were okay..." Teddy said, his words stumbling their way out of his mouth clumsily.

For a moment Teddy swore he saw Billy blush but he had to be mistaken, surely? Was it even possible for Hosts to blush? Teddy supposed if they could bleed then surely they could blush, everything else about the Hosts was so realistic so it didn't seem too out of the realm of possibility that the Hosts would be programmed to blush. Teddy just found it hard to believe that  _he_ had made a Host blush.

"Oh... wow, thank you. I'm fine, don't worry, this isn't my first shoot out," Billy said with a quiet laugh.

Teddy bit at his lip as flashes of the previous night echoed through his mind. Gunshots. Blood. Billy.

"They happen often then?" Teddy asked.

"Not too often. Just every so often some big old bad guy fancies himself unstoppable and moseys into town to rob the Mariposa. I suppose there's lots of money in there, I can see why they chose to head there," Billy said.

"They don't come here?" Teddy asked cautiously.

"No, I guess the bigger and better attraction is the safe in the Mariposa. Why settle for a little old general store when you can strike the goldmine across the street?"

Teddy wondered if what Billy had said was truly true. Had nobody robbed the store before, or was it simply that Billy's memories of the robberies been erased? It wasn't a good path of thought to wander down, because it brought too many questions into Teddy's head that he just didn't want to think about. How many times had Billy been hurt? How many times had he died?

Teddy felt himself shudder.

"Teddy? Is something wrong?" Billy asked, his soft voice dragging Teddy from his dark thoughts.

"Oh... sorry, I was just thinking," Teddy said, feeling himself blush a little.

Billy tilted his head and opened his mouth to speak but cut himself off before a single sound could slip from his lips. His head turned towards the door.

"Oh. I can't hear any gunshots... I guess it's over?" he said softly as he moved closer to the door.

"Hey, wait a minute" Teddy said, instinctively moving fast towards Billy.

Teddy's hand closed on Billy's upper arm to stop him getting closer to the door. 

"Let's check the window first before we step out there, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Billy stammered, his eyes fixed on where Teddy's hand gripped his arm as the blush flushed back into his cheeks. And this time Teddy had no question, it was a blush for sure.

Teddy moved past Billy, reluctantly releasing his hold on his arm, and peered out of the window.

Billy was right, it was over. A few bodies were being lifted away by what Teddy assumed were tech staff dressed as Hosts or Hosts programmed to aid in the movement of their fellow fallen Hosts. A few tourists were looking on, chatting excitedly about the event they had just witnessed. A middle aged couple were having their photograph taken with an authentic old fashioned camera as they stood beside a Host dead in an upright coffin, the woman holding a Wanted poster baring the dead Host's likeness and the man holding a gun to the dead Host's head as they grinned merrily for their souvenir photo.

 _This place is weird_ , Teddy thought to himself as he turned back to Billy.

"It's over," Teddy reported with relief.

"Good," Billy said. "You know, I could probably close up now, I mean after all that I don't think many people will be coming here... And I could sure use a drink about now..."

Billy's voice trailed off but there was an upwards inflection at the end. An invitation. Maybe Teddy was thinking wishfully but he was sure he sensed hope in Billy's voice.

"Yeah... Yeah a drink would be good right about now," Teddy said, letting his smile spread wide across his face.

A drink sure would be good, especially with Billy. Well, as long as it wasn't another damn whiskey.

* * *

Billy Kaplan stood in the middle of Sweetwater's main street surrounded by death. The scent of gunpowder soured the air.

Bodies were strewn around as if they were dolls dropped by a careless child. Too many for Billy to count. Too many for Billy's breaking heart to comprehend.

A scream. somewhere behind him, a woman screaming. Screaming and screaming, Billy dared not turn to see what was causing the woman such awful distress. And then, with nerve shattering suddenness, the scream gave way to deep and dreadful silence.

Blood. Billy's shirt was soaked in blood. It clung to his torso with an uncomfortable, hot stickiness.

And then he saw a man, dressed in black and walking slowly and purposefully toward Billy, gun raised and aimed.

The man cocked the gun, pulled the trigger and-

"Billy? Billy?" a voice, a familiar voice calling from far away. "Billy??" coming closer. "Billy, are you okay?" closer. Closer.

"Billy?"

Here.

A large, strong hand clasping his shoulder. The world shifted at the touch, the hand anchoring him in the here and now.

Billy blinked and looked around. The bodies were gone, the blood gone, the man with the gun gone. There was now only Teddy. And beyond him, the main street of Sweetwater as busy as usual.

"I thought..." Billy started, trailing off when he realised he didn't know what he thought.

He'd been feeling strange all day. Seeing things. But not just seeing them, no, he felt them too. These visions were entirely sensual. Sight, smell, sound, touch, taste, everything. It felt  _real_. It felt so... vivid. Something beyond both memory and dream, as if he was entirely in another place or, perhaps, another time.

God, he was losing it. But why now? Never before could he recall experiencing anything like this.

_These violent delights have violent ends..._

Those words, Dolores' words, floated through his mind again. There was something about them he just couldn't shake, couldn't place his finger on. They affected him unlike any words he had ever heard.

Strange. So very strange.

"Billy?" Teddy's voice came again, concern engraved deep on his features. "Are you okay? You kinda just... spaced out."

"Oh... sorry I- I don't know... I just... my mind must have wandered someplace else," he said trying to shrug it off, so desperate for the blonde man's glowing smile to return to his face.

It didn't. Billy's words seemed to only make Teddy's brow furrow further.

"You sure you wanna go for a drink? If you're not feeling right we don't have to-"

"Yes. I'm fine. Sorry!" Billy interrupted. "Come on, please, let's just go relax, okay?"

And then Billy was moving, walking briskly towards the doors of the Mariposa, desperate to leave the street behind, to leave whatever the strange vision was behind. And, no less desperately, impatient to feel the lightness that bloomed within him whenever Teddy flashed him his large, lopsided grin.

Billy walked into the Mariposa and made his way straight to the bar and placed himself rather hastily down on a vacant stool. Teddy, thankfully, sat down on the stool beside him. Teddy's brow was no longer furrowed but still he regarded Billy with a concerned look. Billy flashed him a smile that he hoped looked reassuring, but with the strange way he felt at the moment it was more likely to have looked like a grimace.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Teddy asked, leaning close to Billy so that his whispered voice carried effortlessly to Billy's ear.

The ghost of Teddy's breath dancing across Billy's cheek, the heat from Teddy's face so close to his own, and the strange feeling from what happened out in the street all coalesced and left Billy feeling rather lightheaded.

"Yes, thank you, I'm fine," Billy said, "I'm just tired. I guess I'm just having an off day."

"I understand," Teddy said. And in Teddy's eyes Billy could see pain behind those two simple words. "We all have off days sometimes, right?"

And to that, Billy could only nod.

A silence passed between them. Not uncomfortable, but heavy and peculiar. A kind of silence filled with something Billy's vocabulary could not produce a name for. 'Understanding' wasn't right but it was the only word Billy could think of at that moment.

There was a loud outcry as someone in the distance lost a game at the card table, followed by the sound of a glass shattering (most likely upon the side of someone's head), but the furore died down before anyone in the bar decided it would be worth their time to look.

"Billy?" Teddy asked, "do you know anyone named Tommy?"

Billy thought for a minute before shaking his head. "No, sorry. Why do you ask?"

Teddy frowned, not from disappointment or concern but from puzzlement. "Oh, no reason. It doesn't really matter."

Billy smiled at him and Teddy smiled back. They ordered drinks and the silence returned. Comfortable and welcome after the chaos of the afternoon.

The comfortable silence was eventually broken by a voice that Billy really did not want to hear.

"Shame," came the gruff male voice that sent shivers up Billy's spine, "was hoping them outlaws mighta gunned you down and saved me a job."

Billy didn't need to turn around to know who had spoken, it could only have ever been Kesler, but still he turned to face the man who he wished so dearly he did not have to face.

Billy opened his mouth but it was Teddy who spoke first. 

"Shame they didn't gun your pathetic ass down." 

Teddy's voice was bristling with an air of protective aggression and it sent a little jolt of electricity through Billy's stomach.

Kesler turned his head to look at Teddy. "New guy, saw you going into the store this morning, and then again this afternoon, and now here you are... with  _him_."

Kesler spat the last word with a venomous hate that had Billy wishing he could just shrivel in on himself or meld in with the shadows.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time than sit and keep check of who goes in to the general store?" Teddy asked, his voice confident and sharp.

"Oh, we have a wise guy, do we?" Kesler sneered. "Well, why don't we just step outside and see how wise you are when you're staring down the barrel of my gun, huh?"

"No thanks, I already tried that and it didn't end so well for you," Teddy said mysteriously.

Both Billy and Kesler tilted their heads in unified confusion, but Kesler shook it off and stepped toward Teddy forcefully.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"It means back off."

And then Teddy turned his back on Kesler and took a mouthful of his drink.

 _What kind of man turns his back on John Kesler_ _?_ Billy wondered. 

It was as if Teddy had no fear that Kesler could hurt him - or worse, kill him. Billy was in awe.

"Okay," Kesler said, his mouth twisted into a sly smile, "I'll back off. I didn't come here to pick a fight with some new comer, I'll just be taking my friend here and I'll be on my way."

Kesler grabbed Billy's shoulder and made to drag him from where he sat but just as swiftly as he had moved so too did Teddy, he reached out and grabbed Kesler's arm.

"Look, man, just walk away, this whole badass evil villain act gets real boring real fast," Teddy said, his voice laced with threat.

And then it was as if the world fell away and the three of them were locked in a strange bubble. Everything seemed to happen all at once and yet, simultaneously, it felt as if time had slowed.

Kesler reached for his gun with his free arm and Teddy lunged at him, his large fist colliding squarely with Kesler's jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Billy felt Teddy grab his hand and pull him swiftly from their place at the bar and then they were running full pelt through the crowd.

They burst out into the street and headed across to the store, but halfway there Billy saw something that turned his blood to ice.

Scarlet, his beloved horse, lay on the dusty ground with her throat slit wide open, her blood forming a dark pool around her that reflected the darkening sky. Dark, dark, dark. How cruel, how senseless.

A man, one of Kesler's cronies of course, stared at them as they approached. His face etched with confusion, a knife dripping with blood clutched in his hand.

Teddy had drawn his pistol and fired before the man even had a chance to move a single muscle. The gunshot made Billy flinch, and Teddy tightened his grip on Billy's hand reassuringly as he turned to him with his panic-stricken face.

"We'll have to take my horse, I'm so sorry, we have to get out of here, Billy, I'm so sorry," Teddy rambled as he pulled Billy to where Teddy's horse was tied, thankfully unharmed. Clearly Kesler's crony had not had the chance to slaughter Teddy's horse, an empty mercy in light of Billy's loss but a small victory was a victory nonetheless.

Teddy untied his horse and then climbed astride before turning to help Billy up. As Billy settled into place behind Teddy he heard a gunshot, the bullet piercing the wooden exterior of the store in front of them.

"Get back here!" Kesler's voice boomed furiously from where he stood in the doorway of the Mariposa.

He fired a second bullet but Teddy had kicked his horse into action and they were off, leaving Scarlet behind in her dark pool of blood. Dead. So cruel, so needlessly violent.

Tears stung in Billy's eyes as he tightened his arms around Teddy's waist. Scarlet was dead. Dead.

 _Because of me_ , Billy thought,  _this is all because of me._

His head sank down, burying his face against Teddy's back. Teddy's body was large and strong, it was a body sculpted and worked into something that Billy had admired since first laying eyes upon the traveller, but now, with his heart shattered and his eyes spilling salty tears down his cheeks, his admiration morphed into something namelessly profound. 

Being pressed against Teddy, having his arms wrapped around the marble-like column of strength that was Teddy's torso, anchored Billy. It centred him when his mind so desperately yearned for escape.

_Scarlet, I'm so sorry._

And then he truly wept, unbridled and unbound, his sobs burst forth, mercifully drowned out by the relentless pounding of the horse's hooves as they careened out of Sweetwater and into the unknown depths of the inky twilight.

***

They rode for quite some time before Billy's tears subsided. And once Teddy was sure they weren't being followed he slowed his horse to a gentle trot.

"I'm so sorry about your horse, Billy," Teddy said, his voice nothing more than a cracked whisper.

"Thank you, Teddy," Billy said, his own voice not much stronger. "Thank you for everything."

Billy looked around but couldn't recognise where they were. The land stretched out endlessly in all directions and the sky had turned black during their escape from Sweetwater. The stars burned dutifully in their heavenly stations and as Billy looked up to them he felt a calm wash over him. It was the kind of calm you're left with once exhaustion has wiped out your sadness. It was not completely comforting but neither was it as annihilating as the overwhelming sense of loss that had seeped into Billy's limbs upon the discovery of his dearly beloved horse slain so cruelly back on the dusty street of Sweetwater.

"Teddy..." he said, "I want to go home."

It was a statement. It was a question. It was a request. Billy was too tired to differentiate.

"That's the first place they'll look," Teddy said grimly.

"Then all the more reason to go there. I can't let Kesler hurt my family."

"Billy, trust me, he'll only hurt your family if you're there to see it. He doesn't care about them, not really. He'd only hurt them if he knew it would make you suffer more. So if you're not there then he won't touch them."

Billy let out a sound, something like a sob but he had no energy left to articulate the way he felt. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to wake up and for all of this to have just been another strange vision. 

 _Except Teddy, I need him to be real,_ Billy thought as he rested his head against Teddy's back once more, shuffling closer to Teddy's warm body.

Besides, Teddy was probably right. Kesler was demented, everybody knew that, so of course he would only hurt Billy's parents when Billy himself was around to maximise the impact of their suffering.

Billy had never handled a gun in his life but oh how he yearned to unload an entire barrel into John Kesler's grinning face.

"So, what do we do now?" Billy asked quietly. 

Teddy was quiet a while before answering.

"Make camp, I can hear a river nearby, I have a tent in the pack on my horse, we'll set up camp by the river and make a proper plan tomorrow. You need to rest somewhere safe. We'll be safe out here," Teddy said, "I'll make sure of it."

There was a determination in Teddy's voice that made Billy think back to the way Teddy had so quickly defended him against Kesler, and it made a welcome warmth unfurl within Billy's stomach. 

If anyone in this entire world could keep Billy safe he was certain it was Teddy Altman. 

* * *

Teddy sat on a large log that he had found beside the river, warming his hands near the fire that crackled away without care or concern of the cruelties of the world Teddy had forced it into existing in.

Behind him was the tent and within the tent was a sleeping Billy. A safe, sleeping Billy. 

When they had dismounted from Teddy's horse Teddy had winced upon seeing Billy's face. Eyes puffy and red raw, tear stains streaking down his cheeks, his hair ruffled and windswept. The boy was a wreck. He could barely stand, his body so weighed down with exhaustion.

 _This is probably what I looked like in the hospital the day my mother passed away,_ he had thought. 

They built the fire using the tinder and flint Teddy had bought from Billy's store. They set up the tent and Teddy unfurled the blanket he had and insisted Billy lay down. Within seconds Billy had fallen asleep. 

Teddy's mind had been full of Billy's sleeping form as he filled his flask with water from the stream and settled beside the fire. Angelic. That was the only word he could think to describe Billy's sleeping face.

Teddy wanted to crawl into the tent, place himself beside Billy and wrap him in his arms. To hold him close, keep him warm and make keep him safe. This fierce protectiveness unfurling within him just as it had done back at the Mariposa when Kesler had shown up.

But he didn't move from his spot on the log. He would stay here, keep watch. All night if he had to. They weren't as far from town as Teddy had wanted to get, but he had no idea where he was going and the dark of night did not help Teddy's already practically non-existent directional skills. Plus Teddy recalled that the further from Sweetwater you go, the more brutal Westworld gets. And brutality was not what he nor Billy needed right now.

Teddy glance up at the sky. He wondered if the stars were real. He wondered if it mattered either way. Billy wasn't real and he mattered _._

Billy wasn't real. And yet he  _was._

It didn't make sense. The idea of 'real', the idea of consciousness, of sentience, was all far to nebulous and abstract for Teddy to ponder in his current state of mind.

Billy wasn't real. He wasn't human. He was made in a lab, designed by engineers, manufactured and dressed up and then programmed by technicians. His entire personality created by behavioural experts and then uploaded into his brain. His life was written by a bunch of impressive writers who were probably embroiled in an endless circle jerk session applauding each other's brilliance as each blood-soaked narrative unfolded one after another after another. Endless creation. So many stories to create and to tell and to experience. God, it was all so fantastic and terrible and beautiful and horrific.

People creating life. Artificial life, but life nonetheless. Oh the people who owned and ran this place must fancy themselves as gods, how sadistically great and powerful they are. They create lives and they control them, stringing stories together in their very own playground to astound and entertain the masses.

Here you can be who or what you want, without consequence. And yet Teddy felt the heavy weight of consequence pressing upon him. He remembered how he felt seeing Billy die the previous night. How he felt when he thought Billy might die again tonight. He remembered how he felt when Billy sobbed his heart out pressed against his back as they sped away from his dead horse and the man who wanted so badly to kill Billy. It all felt so overwhelmingly real.

But it wasn't. Kesler wanted to kill Billy because some writer decided that would be their storyline. The dead horse in the bloodied dust was a robot. Kesler was a robot. Billy was a robot. 

 _But he feels so real!_ Teddy thought, his voice screaming inside his head.

"If you can't tell, does it matter?" 

Angela's words echoed in his head again. 

 _No,_ Teddy decided,  _no it doesn't matter at all._

Billy had thoughts, Billy had feelings and emotions. The way Billy smiled, the way he laughed, the way he had wept. Billy felt real to Teddy and right now, beneath the unfathomably endless black sky, that was all that mattered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The title 'Dasein' is a German word that translates to 'presence' or 'being there'. It's an important term in Martin Heidegger's philosophy, it is a form of Being that is experienced when thinking of Being. Basically, it can be defined as an entity that is conscious of the meaning of its own existence. In practical terms, this means the human being is Dasein, since, arguably, no other lifeforms on the planet are fully conscious of their own existence.  
> However, here, that is challenged (or perhaps, more accurately, complicated) by the Hosts. While the Hosts ARE aware they exist, they are not aware of their full existence or of the artificiality of said existence. To become/achieve 'Dasein' a Host must question itself and become aware if their own Being via questioning their full Being because the world and Dasein are only perceived and perceivable through Dasein's own awareness of its Being.
> 
> \- The phrase "These violent delights have violent ends" seems to have been embedded in a sort of "software update" given to a large portion of the hosts. Think of it as a trigger that sparks them to break from their programming and it allows them to begin accessing their deleted memories of their previous fates and storylines and so on (as has begun happening with Billy). But don't worry the phrase isn't particularly significant here beyond beginning Billy's journey toward self-awareness (which links nicely to the title). 
> 
> Anyway, just thought I'd explain those two things for anyone who was interested, thank you so much for reading! :)
> 
> Next Time: Out on the beautiful vistas of Westworld Teddy and Billy cross paths with Kate and Tommy. Billy remembers terrible things and goes in search of answers. A figure from Teddy's past emerges from the desert and causes complications. Mystery and drama ensues.


	3. Being Toward Death

Teddy awoke with a stiff neck. He had fallen asleep in an upright position, to afraid to leave his spot by the fire in case some bandits came across their camp in the night, or worse, in case Kesler and co caught up with them.

Thankfully, their night was undisturbed. But Teddy was now left wondering what to do next. Where would they go from here? They couldn't just hide out in the desert, and Teddy new that when Billy awoke he would want to go home, he'd need to see if his family was okay and Teddy understood that. He guessed that was what they would do next, even though it felt to Teddy like it would be exactly where Kesler would expect them to go.

 _Well,_ Teddy thought,  _I defeated Kesler once, I can get behind blasting that asshole back to the hell he crawled from one more time._

And anyway, Kesler never struck Teddy as being particularly intelligent, nor did he seem to have a hatred for Billy's parents the way he did for Billy, so maybe he'd just lurk around town hoping to catch Billy on his way home from work again.

Teddy ducked his head inside the tent. Billy lay there, still deep asleep with his features softened into the innocent bliss of slumber. Teddy found himself smiling at the image that lay before him and stood there a moment longer, drinking in the tranquillity that was so needed after all the darkness and chaos of the previous night.

Teddy left the tent, leaving Billy to sleep, and set himself to relighting the fire with the intention of boiling water for tea. Something to bring a sense of normality to the morning, no matter how small said gesture seemed.

It was then, as Teddy was on his knees beside the fire with flint in hand, that he heard the approaching thunder of horses. He felt a lurch in his stomach. Kesler, it had to be Kesler, right?

 _Stay calm,_ he told himself.

He took in a steadying breath and then rose to his feet to face the approaching riders.

It wasn't Kesler. Thank goodness. It was two riders, one male and one female. The female rider lead the way, her dark hair bouncing behind her as she galloped towards where Teddy stood.

Perhaps they were bandits, or tourists, hopefully tourists. They could just be a pair of other guests passing through the area, or they could be Hosts wanting to pull Teddy into whatever their assigned narrative was. Teddy didn't have time for narratives right now, and he certainly didn't think he had the strength of mind to deal with being robbed at gunpoint by two Host bandits.

As the two riders got closer Teddy noticed that they each wore bandannas tied over the lower half of their faces, his green and hers purple, and each had their hats tilted downward so that only their eyes were visible.

 _Bandits,_ Teddy thought,  _they've gotta be bandits dressed like that._

The riders were upon the camp now, no question that they were riding purposefully to Teddy. The male rider overtook his female companion as she slowed her horse to a trot whereas he carried on at speed till he moved past Teddy, only narrowly avoiding a collision, and then reared his horse around.

Teddy turned to see that the male rider was finally motionless, beside the tent that contained Billy. And then Teddy noticed the gun.

"Stand and deliver," the rider called, "Or... whatever it is cowboys say in this situation."

Teddy thought he recognised the riders voice, but he was distracted by the sound of hoofs behind him. The female rider had taken her place, trapping Teddy between the two of them. Her gun was also out but, unlike her companion, she did not have her weapon pointed down at Teddy, she just looked at him. And then she was throwing off her hat and pulling down her bandanna, and Teddy felt himself exhale a breath he hadn't realise he had been holding.

"Teddy!" the rider called out, hopping down gracefully from her horse. "It's Teddy, right?"

Kate! The woman from the bar yesterday. Which meant that her companion had to be...

Not-Billy! Or Tommy, as he was actually named, who had now also abandoned his bandanna, though he remained upon his horse.

"For fuck sake, Kate!" he cried out in exasperation, "one goddamn robbery was all I asked for, but noooo, you know the robot because of course YOU know the robot!"

"Teddy isn't a robot, Tommy, you met him yesterday," Kate said, stowing her gun back in its holster on her hip. "And I promised we would rob someone as long as they were a HOST, we're not gonna start robbing people, Tommy."

"Ugh, screw your rules and ethics," Tommy muttered as he sprang from his horse and stood with a sulky frown on his face.

Teddy couldn't help but chuckle as he imagined that expression on Billy's face, which wasn't difficult given that the two were identical...

Teddy wanted to ask Tommy about the similarity but what exactly would he say? ' _Hey you look exactly like the robot boy I'm kinda totally maybe falling in love with and have killed for and watched die, what's up with that?_ '. That hardly felt like an appropriate conversation to have with a guy he didn't even know.

But, conveniently, Teddy didn't need to raise that question because the question raised itself.

Or, more accurately, Billy had awoken and emerged from the tent. He stood before the entrance, which meant that Tommy's horse was the only thing between the two. Seeing them both practically side by side was jarring. Their similarities now obscenely clear.

"Teddy?" Billy asked, his voice soft as he stared at Kate over Teddy's shoulder.

"Oh my god... Tommy..." Kate's voice was quiet with shock as she stepped forward to stand beside Teddy, her eyebrows raised.

Teddy looked over at Tommy who's expression mirrored Kate's. Shock. Surprise. And Teddy thought he sensed sadness too.

Billy looked confused, but his confusion seemed not to have the same meaningful weight as Kate or Tommy's confusion.

"Teddy, what's going on?" Billy asked, his eyes flitting between the two newcomers with wary appraisal. 

"William... Billy... I..." Tommy said, or attempted to say, seemingly grasping for words that would not come. 

Tommy stepped closer to Billy so that the two were now facing each other, looking at each other. Teddy scrutinised Billy's face, searching for answers in the dark-haired boy's face, but he found none. Billy remained wary, taking a small step back from the blonde-haired version of himself, yet there didn't seem to be a single shred of recognition in his face.

"Teddy... do you know these people?" Billy asked, panic beginning to seep into his voice.

"Billy, it's me... Tommy..." Tommy said.

Again, there was no sense of recognition from Billy.

"How do you know my name? Oh god, did Kesler send you?" Billy stepped back again, dread reigning across his face. 

"Who's Kesler?" Tommy asked.

"Billy, it's okay, I know them, Kesler didn't send them, it's okay," Teddy said as he stepped toward Billy with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"You know them?" Billy asked again.

"Yeah, I met Kate yesterday," Teddy said, nodding in Kate's direction, "and Tommy's her boyfriend, they're good, okay? No need to worry, all right?"

Billy's shoulders relaxed, his eyes drifted from Tommy to Kate and then rested on Teddy as he smiled at him in a way that made Teddy's heart skip.

And then Tommy turned to face Teddy too, his brows furrowed together as he regarded Teddy.

"Wait, you know him? You know Billy?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah..." Teddy answered, his voice slow and uncertain.

Tommy took a step toward Teddy, his confusion morphing into something Teddy thought might be anger, though he hoped it wasn't.

"How do you know Billy? Did you bring him here? Did you come together?" yeah, it was definitely anger, Teddy realised as Tommy took another step toward him. "Who are you?" Tommy demanded.

Teddy stuttered, completely lost now, the situation having escalated beyond his comprehension.

"Tommy, just calm down for a minute," Kate said, her voice even and assuring.

"Why doesn't he recognise me?" Tommy asked, this time his question aimed at Kate, the anger in his voice was replaced once more with confusion and that same undertone of sadness Teddy had detected earlier.

"I don't know..." Kate said, before turning to face Billy again, "Billy, are you okay?"

Billy looked at her, tilting his head as he regarded her, scrutinising her with pained puzzlement, and then looked to Teddy, eyes wide and begging for help, for reassurance, for something Teddy was completely unable to provide him in this particular situation.

"Teddy, please, what's going on?"

Before Teddy could answer him Tommy began to talk.

"Billy, how can you not recognise me? Are you okay? Who the fuck is that Teddy guy? Did he hurt you?" his words stumbled over one another as if in a race to leave his mouth first.

"What? No, Teddy didn't hurt me, Teddy saved me... Oh my god..." Billy snapped his head toward Teddy suddenly, "Teddy, my parents! We have to go back, I have to go make sure they're okay!"

"Your parents? What are you talking about?" asked Tommy.

Teddy found his voice again, at last.

"Billy, that's exactly where Kesler would wait for you-"

"Who is Kesler?" Tommy asked, talking over Teddy.

Billy ignored him.

"No, we have to go there, please, I can't just hide in the desert for the rest of my life-"

"What do you mean?" Tommy interrupted again, but Billy was not deterred. 

Billy stepped toward Teddy, moving away from Tommy, and continued talking.

"Teddy, I have to go back home, please..."

"What do you mean 'home'?" Tommy asked, stepping forward to stand beside Billy once more.

Again, Billy ignored his question.

"Maybe your friends could help us? They have guns. I don't think Kesler would risk going up against the three of you."

"Billy, tell us what's wrong and we can help you." This time it was Kate who spoke, her voice calm as ever.

Billy glanced at her and then looked to Teddy, his eyes betraying his wariness of the two strangers.

"There's this guy in town, Kesler, he tried to kill Billy last night," Teddy explained.

"KILL HIM? What the fuck?!" Tommy's voice was thunderous as he spoke.

"He's always had a problem with me, but he's never tried to do anything like this before... I don't understand..." Billy said, his eyes falling to stare at the dirt beneath his feet.

Teddy felt his heart sink a little. Billy thought this was the first time Kesler had tried anything, but of course Teddy knew differently. 

"Always? Billy what do you mean always? Who is Kesler?" Tommy asked, his voice quieter now but no less urgent.

"A bounty hunter," Billy said, "he lives in town, but it doesn't matter, please I just need to go home."

Billy's voice broke on the last word, and there were tears brimming in his eyes as he looked up at Teddy.

"Teddy, please, take me home.." he begged.

And how could Teddy ever deny that request without shattering his own heart? Shit, he was in way over his head here.

"Billy, wait, just look at something for me..." Tommy said, moving back to his horse where he rifled through a bag, searching for something.

He pulled out a photo and walked back, handing the photo to Billy. Teddy looked too, hoping for answers but found only more questions.

The photo showed Billy and Tommy, side by side with Tommy's arm around Billy's shoulder, as they stood before a large New York City cinema beneath a large sign that advertised a showing of 'The Sound of Music'. Far far away from the simulated wild west landscape of Westworld. And they were younger, Teddy noted, the two of them were a few years younger than they looked as they stood before him.

"Do you remember this?" Tommy asked, desperation in his voice.

Billy stared at the photo, his head tilted to the side, brows furrowed.

And then his expression changed, his features smoothed out into a blank expression as he looked up from the photo to Tommy.

"It doesn't look like anything to me," Billy said, his voice strangely emotionless and calm, so different to the panic and confusion and desperation that had soaked his words just mere moments before.

Billy handed the photo back to Tommy.

Tommy's face crumbled. He turned to Kate, who's face was just as perplexed as Teddy's must have been.

"Kate..." was all Tommy said.

"I know..." Kate replied.

"Teddy, I'm going to go take your horse to the river so he can drink, and then can we please go home?" Billy asked.

"Sure, okay yeah, we'll go..." Teddy said.

As Billy walked off, Kate moved closer to Teddy.

"Is he, urm, is he a... Host?" she asked as they watched Billy lead Teddy's horse down towards the nearby river.

"Yeah," Teddy answered. "Why?"

Tommy thrust the photo towards Teddy.

"Because Billy is my brother."

Teddy let the words fall over him, weighing their implications in his mind. He didn't know what he thought the reason behind their shared appearance would be, but he would never have guessed at this. Teddy wasn't even sure what to think, or how to begin making sense of this revelation.

"But... he's a Host..." Teddy said.

"Are you sure of that?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, trust me, he's a Host," Teddy said, "I... I saw him die."

Tommy and Kate stared at him, the colour gone from their faces.

"He didn't recognise the photo, Tommy," Kate said.

"Yeah what was up with that?" Tommy asked.

"Hosts are programmed to ignore anything that challenges their perception of reality. Any inconsistencies, any anachronisms simply just don't register to them. If it isn't from right here in the wild wild west of Westworld, then the Hosts are programmed to just disregard them. Billy didn't recognise that photo because it was in a modern city, from a life outside this park. So... that pretty much confirms that he is, in fact, a Host..." Kate said, "which means, he can't be your brother, at least not physically, not  _really,_ not in the way that the boy in this photo was your brother... I'm sorry, Tommy"

"This is fucked up," said Tommy.

"Yeah," said Teddy. That was all he could say. What else was there?

"What now?" Tommy asked, his question aimed at Kate.

"I have connections, Tommy. We'll get answers, I promise," she said, and then turned to face Teddy, "I'm sorry Teddy, I know this is probably a lot right now, but Tommy and I need to go. I have a call to make, or several calls more likely, but when we get answers we'll come looking for you, okay?"

Teddy nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Stay close to town if you can, we'll find you and tell you everything we know, you're in this now too, whatever the hell this is..." Kate said, as she climbed back on her horse.

"Keep him safe, okay?" Tommy asked, "he said you saved him last night?"

"Err, yeah, I did," Teddy said, leaving out the part where he had failed to save him the night before that.

"Well, I don't know what's going on, but stay with him, okay? That's my brother, it has to be... It HAS to be..."

Teddy nodded and smiled as best he could as Tommy mounted his horse.

"See if you can get any answers from Billy?" Kate called as she and Tommy began to ride away. "We'll see you soon, Teddy!"

And then they were off, racing into the distance, into the unknown in search for answers to questions that made Teddy's head hurt to even just contemplate.

Tommy was Billy's brother. Tommy was human. Billy was a robot. Billy was Tommy's brother.

It didn't make sense. Was this some kind of ultra-meta narrative? Some high-brow, breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of plot dreamed up by a wannabe philosopher bored of writing shootouts and whorehouse robberies?

Teddy didn't know. His only hope of understanding was Tommy and Kate returning with answers, and who new when or if that would ever happen.

Teddy turned back to the river, shaking the thoughts from his head. No, no time for those kind of questions, Teddy decided he would focus on getting Billy home unharmed, and then he could think of what to do next. 

_One step at a time, Teddy, you can handle this._

Right?

Yeah, that's all Teddy really could take right now.

He made his way to the river, where he found Billy staring in wide-eyed shock at the water, the reigns to Teddy's horse clutched in his left hand as the horse drank.

"Billy?" Teddy asked as he approached cautiously. 

Billy flinched at the sound of Teddy's voice.

"Teddy... Sorry, I... I... Doesn't matter," Billy said, shaking his head as if to clear it of thoughts.

"Tell me," Teddy said gently, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Billy's shoulder. He felt Billy relax at his touch. It was subtle, but it made Teddy's heart melt all the same.

"I saw myself... In the river. I don't know how to explain it, I've- I've been seeing things recently, things that feel so real but they can't possibly be real," Billy said. "I was dead, Teddy, floating in the water, blood spreading around me."

Teddy didn't know what to say. Billy was seeing things, terrible things, things Teddy thought could perhaps be memories. Something else to add to the growing pile of things Teddy couldn't comprehend. But Teddy couldn't just stand there in silent confusion, not when Billy was looking up at him with brown eyes glistening with tears.

Teddy pulled Billy into a hug, his big arms easily wrapping around Billy's slender frame, Billy's face pressed into Teddy's chest so that Teddy could rest his chin on the mess of Billy's dark hair.

It was perfect, they fit together as if this was exactly how their bodies were meant to exist; entwined and pressed together, for now and for always. Or at least so Teddy hoped.

Billy pulled his face away from Teddy's chest so that he could look up at Teddy, their faces closer than ever.

"I don't understand," Billy said with a soft, sad sigh that ghosted across Teddy's face.

Teddy didn't even think, didn't even hesitate, he followed the will of his body and leaned forward to press his mouth against Billy's.

Billy's lips were soft, and warm, and they felt like home in the strangest way. 

Teddy wanted to part Billy's lips with his tongue and make the kiss deeper, but now wasn't the time, not while Billy was confused and distraught. Teddy pulled away from the kiss but didn't move away from Billy, keeping his arms wrapped around him. For a moment Billy kept his eyes closed.

"Oh, Teddy," Billy said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry," Teddy said. He stepped back from Billy, breaking their contact. He felt his cheeks flush red, he'd been a fool, Billy was upset and clearly going through one hell of a bad time and Teddy's response had been to kiss him without warning. 

"No, Teddy, don't apologise," Billy said. He reached out and grasped Teddy's hand, and just as Billy's body had fit so well within Teddy's arms, Teddy found that Billy's hand fit perfectly inside his hand. "That was the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

Teddy couldn't help but smile at that because, honestly, as sad as it may be to admit, it was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time too.

There was a small voice in the back of his head that was reminding him that he had  _kissed a robot,_ but Teddy ignored it. He didn't care, not right now. Billy felt real, the kiss had felt real, and Teddy had needed it. Needed the contact, the intimacy.

Teddy pulled Billy closer again, placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Come on," Teddy said, "let's get going."

And, as the two of them began to pack up their camp, Teddy felt lighter than he had in a long time. All the confusion over Tommy and Billy's connection was gone, all the fear of facing Kesler again was gone. There was only Billy. And Teddy knew right there and then that he would fight tooth and nail to keep it that way. 

Teddy and Billy against the world. Forget the complications, forget the mystery, forget the questions. Just this. This was the escape he hadn't even dreamed he would find when he first came here to this park.

* * *

 

Billy had settled himself onto the horse behind Teddy, his arms wrapped around Teddy's torso. It was the same position he had been in the previous night, though this time his heart felt much lighter. And the previous night he could not hold back his tears, now he could not hold back his smile.

Of course, Billy's heart still felt the dull ache of the loss of his horse, Scarlet. But being this close to Teddy made it feel as if there was nothing ahead of them but hope. Hope for safety, hope for home, hope for happiness, and the thing Billy shyly hoped for the most: more kisses from Teddy.

And they were heading  _home._ Billy could finally put his worry to rest, make sure his parents were unharmed and then, no way around it, he and Teddy would have to confront Kesler. The thought made Billy feel ill but he knew it was the only way. Something had to be done or Kesler would chase them to the end of the world, there was just no way this would end in anything but blood and violence, it felt inevitable. It felt like fate. It felt strange in a way Billy couldn't really understand, but he felt it had some kind of connection to his dreams and visions. As if fate, or some higher power, were leading him somewhere, trying to tell him something perhaps. He couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

Except for Teddy. Right there, right then, Teddy was the only certainty. Billy was pressed against him, he could feel him, he could smell Teddy's sweat, he could hear Teddy's breath. Teddy was a solid, unwavering reality, and Billy clung to him as they rode through the uncertain desert toward an uncertain future. Onward to answers, and onward to hope, or so Billy wished.

***

They arrived at Billy's house after a long and exhausting ride, made all the more tiring by the growing dread in the pit of Billy's stomach. He wanted so badly for his family to be safe and unharmed, but the image of Scarlet laying in the dust surrounded by blood kept rising up in Billy's mind and he just could not shake the fear that a similar fate had befell his parents.

When the house came into view there was nothing immediately amiss. But still the dread within Billy would not abate. They dismounted the horse and made their way tentatively inside.

Quiet. But then the sound of movement upstairs, and Billy's blood turned to ice water.

Billy saw Teddy pull his gun from its holster as he made his way upstairs, he motioned for Billy to remain where he stood but Billy had no intention of obeying. The two made their way slowly up the stairs, each holding their breath.

And then there was movement ahead of them, a figure appearing atop the stairs so suddenly that Billy felt as though his heart would burst forth from his chest. 

Teddy's arm raised, pointing his gun at the figure, a scream erupting into the heavy silence of the house.

"Mother!" Billy cried, forcing his way past Teddy and throwing his arms around the woman who regarded him with wide and bewildered eyes.

"B-Billy? What is... What's..." but her words were lost as Billy threw himself upon her.

He could feel her heart racing in her chest, he could smell her, that familiar scent that would always be home to Billy. She was here. She was a certainty now, not just a possibility. Billy felt his muscles relaxing as his mother, recovering from her shock, embraced Billy in return.

"Mother, where is he? Where's father?" Billy asked, his cheek still pressed firmly against his mother's chest.

"He went to town... Billy, what's going on? Who is this man pointing a gun in my house?" she asked, her voice was alarmed but Billy sensed a trace of annoyance.

Of course, in a situation like this his mother still found time to disapprove of a stranger pointing a gun in her home. Manners were everything to her.

"Oh, sorry," Billy said, stepping back from his mother, "this is Teddy, he saved my life. We were worried something had happened to you and father."

Teddy had already holstered his gun and he now dipped his head politely at Billy's mother. Billy smiled, his mother would appreciate Teddy's politeness.

"Saved you? Billy what is going on?" his mother asked.

"It's hard to explain... but father's okay, isn't he?" 

"Yes, I believe so," his mother said, "you should come eat something Billy, you didn't come home last night, we were worried about you. Your friend will most likely appreciate the food too I should think."

Billy looked to Teddy, who nodded his agreement. Now that food had been mentioned Billy realised just how hungry he was, and his mother's food was exactly what he needed right now.

And so the three of them made their way down to the kitchen, where Billy's mother busied herself over the stove.

Billy sat down at the table beside Teddy. Sun fell in through the kitchen windows in glorious gold shafts, and it felt so good to be motionless after such a long ride. It felt so good to be home, safe and alive, after everything that had happened. Billy found himself yearning for a life where he had never met Kesler. A life where he was here in the golden light of the kitchen, his mother busy cooking delicious food, Teddy beside him, both of them tidy and clean and smiling. A life unhaunted by violence.

"You boys look rather dirty, and you smell rather unacceptable," Billy's mother said, her back still to them as she scooped some form of stew into bowls, "once you've eaten you should bathe." She turned, placing a bowl before each of them, and then looked at Teddy, "your name is Teddy, yes?"

"Yes, Teddy. Short for Theodore," Teddy said with a grateful smile. "Thank you so much for you hospitality."

His mother nodded, approving of his manners, and Billy felt a swell of pride in his chest. He didn't know it would be important his mother like Teddy, but it was, it really was.

"Well then Teddy, you may bathe first as you are a guest here. If you leave your clothes outside of the bathroom I'll have them washed for you, you can borrow something from Billy's father until they dry, he's closer to your height than Billy is. You'll be staying here tonight, of course," Billy's mother said, as if it was a fact.

"Oh... wow, err, thank you so much," Teddy said. Billy noted a slight blush creeping across Teddy's cheeks, an observation that made Billy smile.

"Please, I don't know what happened but Billy says you saved him, a hot bath, some clean clothes and a bed for the night are the least I can do," his mother said, "I presume you're from out of town?"

"Err... yeah, yeah I'm new here, I've been staying at an inn in Sweetwater," Teddy explained.

Billy wondered, not for the first time, just how long Teddy was intending to stay in Sweetwater. He hoped Teddy would chose to remain here, but the way Teddy spoke made it sound like he was merely visiting or passing through.

"Well, I do not wish to sound prideful, but staying here for the night shall serve to leave you much more rested than an inn," his mother said, before leaving the room to presumably prepare a bath.

For a moment their was only the sound of Billy and Teddy devouring the stew, which Billy guessed was most likely rabbit. It was good, really good, just as all of his mother's cooking was. 

The silence between Billy and Teddy was peaceful, and calm, and so welcoming after the chaos of the previous day. 

"I hope you don't mind that my mother is practically forcing you to stay here," Billy said, breaking the pleasant silence.

Teddy chuckled, "of course not, I'm thankful, actually."

"You are?" Billy asked, turning to look at Teddy.

"Yeah, where else would I want to be other than where you are?" Teddy said, turning to face Billy.

They sat there a moment, each looking at the other. 

Billy found himself lost in the serenity of the moment, it stretched out impossibly long, as if time were irrelevant. The sun hit Teddy's face like a soft kiss of light, caressing his sturdy jawline, flooding his golden hair, warming his smooth skin, his lips.

Billy noticed that Teddy's eyes had drifted across Billy's face to settle on his lips, and Billy felt heat unfurling in his stomach, an aching, yearning desire. He wanted to reach out and touch Teddy, to feel the warmth of Teddy's mouth against his once more. But the moment was broken when his mother called out to inform Teddy that his bath was ready.

Teddy blushed a burning shade of red and, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck, rose quickly from the table.

"Err, I'm sorry," he said.

Billy felt deflated. Why had Teddy felt the need to apologise? Had Billy not seemed receptive to the kiss they had shared this morning? Perhaps Teddy had just been caught up in the drama of the arrival of the two strangers that he had seemed to know from somewhere? Perhaps they were old friends from wherever Teddy came from? Perhaps the kiss had meant more to Billy than it had to Teddy?

And now here he was, back surrounded by possibilities and uncertainty. 

Billy directed Teddy to the bathroom and then, once Teddy had closed the door, Billy returned to sit at the kitchen table where he tried to keep his mind from the fact that Teddy was here in his house. And that right now he was, though out of sight, completely naked.

***

Billy's father had returned home while Teddy was bathing, and Billy had finally told his parents what had happened. He told them about getting to know Teddy, about him saving Billy from Kesler, about Scarlet, about their escape into the desert. The only thing he missed out was the two strangers that had arrived and had a conversation that Billy simply could not comprehend in his own mind, and therefore simply could not explain it to his parents.

Once Teddy had bathed and dressed himself in the clothes Billy's mother had left for him, he joined Billy and his parents in the kitchen once more.

Teddy wore a pair of pants and a simple shirt, and while the clothes fit him height wise, Teddy's build was more muscular than Billy's father's and so the top few buttons of his shirt had been left unfastened. Billy looked down at the floor, forcing his eyes not to wander over the exposed flesh of Teddy's chest, though he had already noted the smooth tan skin, he had already noticed the sprinkling of blonde chest hair peeking through the gap of the shirt.

Yeah, that image was burned into Billy's mind no matter where he averted his eyes to.

Billy's father had engaged Teddy in conversation and soon Teddy was sat eagerly listening to the tales that Billy's father told. Tales that Billy had heard time and time again, and yet Teddy seemed enthralled by them, and it was honest enthusiasm too, Billy noted. Teddy wasn't just politely nodding along, but actively enjoying listening to what Billy's father had to say about his life.

Billy felt that sense of pride swelling in his chest again as he excused himself to finally take his turn to bathe. He took a moment to look back before he left the room, Teddy so at ease around Billy's parents, sat in Billy's home. Maybe this could last. Maybe Teddy would want to stay here. Maybe this was the start of a life Billy had only ever dreamed of.

He smiled as he walked into the bathroom, his mother had set out a fresh pair of clothes for him already. He slipped out of his dirty clothes and stepped into the hot water within the bathtub. 

It felt good. He could feel the water washing away the entirety of yesterday. The dirt, the sweat, the blood. Slowly being eroded away by the water.

Billy let his mind wander as he watched steam rise from the bath, swirling and twirling upward before disappearing. 

And then he was somewhere else. Still surrounded by water, but now it felt cold and dirty.

A river. Billy realised he lay in a river, dark flowers of blood blossoming from a deep wound in his stomach. Laughter echoing in the air, but Billy could not see from whose mouths those cruel undulations echoed. Though he could make a good guess as to who was leading them.

"Remember," came a calm voice on the wind. A male voice he recognised but could not place a name or face to.

Not Kesler. Not Teddy. Not Billy's father. Someone else. Someone he felt he was close to identifying but a name or a face drifted from him. Just beyond his reach.

"Remember," came the voice again.

And now Billy was somewhere else. Home. Well, outside of his house. His mother and father dead at his feet. A bleeding gunshot wound in his chest, another in his stomach. He dropped to his knees.

"Remember."

Flames now. Heat. Wrapping around him, clinging to him, searing him. The agony was unbearable.

He cried out. In pain, terror, hopeless despair.

And then there was a thumping sound.

"Billy?! Billy?!"

Billy awoke in the bath, the water gone cold, his heart relentlessly thrusting against the ribs that entrapped it.

"Billy?!" it was his father.

He was in the bathroom of his home. Unharmed.

"I'm- I'm okay!" Billy shouted. The banging on the door subsided. "I'm okay, I'll be out in a minute. I'm okay!"

But he wasn't. He wasn't okay, he was falling apart.

***

Billy had calmed down, and then he had dressed himself and shyly left the bathroom.

His parents and Teddy were sat waiting where he had left them. Their faces etched with concern. Billy explained he had fallen asleep in the water and had had a nightmare. He apologised for scaring them. His parents accepted his explanation, but Teddy did not. Billy could tell from his face, Teddy knew something else was going on.

Billy told his parents he was feeling tired and wished to sleep, he said he would show Teddy to the guest room and then bid his parents goodnight. His mother regarded him with careful eyes and embraced him a moment longer than necessary. Billy appreciated the concern, but it made him feel uneasy, he did not enjoy keeping things from his parents.

The minute Teddy followed Billy into the guest room he closed the door behind him and then rounded on Billy.

"Tell me what really happened," he said softly.

"I've just been feeling strange lately... seeing things, weird dreams..." Billy didn't really know what to say, he was lost, confused. 

"I remember, you told me," Teddy said. He reached out and placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. "When did this begin? Did something happen?"

Billy thought for a moment.

_These violent delights have violent ends._

Of course! This strange feeling had descended upon him after he had spoken to Dolores. These dreams and visions that felt so vivid, so real, only began after speaking to her.

"Dolores Abernathy! I talked to Dolores, she said something strange to me... ever since then I've felt... different."

And then Billy knew what he needed to do, it was the only thing he could think of, the only possible chance of getting answers.

"I need to find Dolores, I need to speak to her," he said.

"Okay, okay, where is she?" Teddy asked, his large hand still firmly on Billy's shoulder, anchoring him.

"She lives at Abernathy Ranch, I have to go there, I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologise. Come on, I'm gonna take you there," Teddy said.

"No, Teddy, you've helped enough, I couldn't ask you to-" 

"Billy, I'm coming. There's no question," Teddy said, his voice sending a shiver down Billy's spine. The confidence, the strength, the determination. 

"Okay... okay, let's go."

And they went. They crept silently from the house, Billy leaving behind a note for his parents to find in the morning, telling them he had gone to town to help Teddy find supplies. He borrowed his father's horse and then he and Teddy set off into the night. Into the dark. Into the unknown.

* * *

 

It felt good to be in fresh clothes. Sure, they weren't perfect, the shirt was a little tight across his chest and he couldn't fasten up all the buttons, but it was so much better than the sweat-stained, dirt-encrusted clothes he had been wearing before. Teddy hoped he would get a chance to drop by his room at the inn tomorrow and change into some of the clean clothes he had there, clothes that had been tailored to fit him perfectly.

But the feeling of fresh cotton on his skin felt like a luxury, and the chance to see Billy's house, to sit around with his family, was an experience he was thankful for. 

And now they were on the move again. The calm serenity that had enveloped him back at Billy's house was gone, but then again, Teddy did come to Westworld in search of adventure, he just hadn't expected to come to care quite so much about any of the Hosts. But then along came Billy.

Back at Billy's home there was a moment in the kitchen, the golden sun igniting Billy's eyes and illuminating his soft features, when Teddy had yearned to kiss him just as he had that morning beside the river. And again, earlier, when he had been alone in the guest bedroom with Billy, his hand on Billy's narrow shoulder, he had ached to pull him close, kiss him. He had yearned to make good use of the bed. To take the fear from Billy's eyes and turn it into sweet ecstasy. 

But that would have been inappropriate, Billy needed answers, needed to find someone called Dolores Abernathy. Teddy's passions could wait. He knew Billy would be worth waiting for. He knew it.

And so here they were, riding through the desert once more. 

The ride to Abernathy Ranch had been perhaps a half hour. The night breeze was cool and Teddy had kept conversation light between Billy and himself, not wanting to stray too deep into anything so as to avoid upsetting Billy any further. It pained him to see the lost expression on Billy's face.

Upon nearing the ranch it was evident that all was not well, something that Teddy had noticed was a trend in the park. Violence was everywhere. Was violence all that people wanted? Was violence the reason so many guests came here? Surely not all the guests were so bloodthirsty, yet the huge amount of narratives that ended in blood and slaughter and cruelty seemed to suggest that, yes, violence was what people came here for. Violence was inescapable here.

Two gunshots rang out into the night, and then a male voice screaming, cut short by a third gunshot.

Billy's face turned pale as he turned to look at Teddy, and then he kicked his horse into a sprint and galloped toward the house. Teddy chasing after.

Teddy admired Billy's bravery, racing off unarmed without hesitation. But, of course, that bravery could so easily be recklessness. Or perhaps a little of both. Teddy had guessed that Billy was one of the Hosts Angela had told him about, the ones that were programmed not to handle weapons, because Teddy had never seen Billy go anywhere near a gun or even a knife. Obviously this left the responsibility of protection down to Teddy, but he liked that, he liked protecting Billy, he liked feeling like a hero. It felt like he was in a movie. The gunslinging hero and his fearless companion. 

As they crossed the land in front of the ranch Teddy scanned the darkness for signs of movement. The front door was wide open, spilling light onto the veranda. The sound of rambunctious laughter echoed from within. There was no cruelty to it, nothing callous, no, it sounded more like drunken laughter, target-less laughter. Which suggested to Teddy that the laughter had come from guests and not from Kesler. Kesler was cruel and sadistic, his laughter was smug with the victory of causing pain to others, whereas guests were simply thrilled by the lack of consequences to their actions. The difference was small, but there was a difference nonetheless.

Billy practically threw himself from his horse and turned to look at Teddy with fear-filled eyes. Teddy swung himself down beside him.

"It's okay, just stay behind me," Teddy said.

He reloaded his gun with bullets from the stash in the bag on his horse, and then began to walk cautiously toward the house. If the people inside were, as Teddy thought, guests then he would not be able to seriously harm them, nor they him. But of course the situation was still dangerous to Billy, and Teddy felt his pulse begin to race as they drew near the open door.

Perhaps it would be a mix of guests and Hosts, in which case Teddy planned to shoot the hosts and take his chances with the guests. If Dolores was dead they'd have to return to find her tomorrow after she had been repaired, but Teddy didn't know how he'd explain that to Billy. Maybe he wouldn't have to, maybe Billy's programming would just 'delete' any memory of Dolores' death upon seeing her alive and well again. Kate had said that Hosts were programmed to ignore anything that challenged the nature of their reality. But then again, something was happening to Billy. He was seeing things, things that sounded an awful lot like they could be memories. Maybe he was starting to remember, despite his programming.

No, Teddy couldn't think about that right now. One problem at a time.

Another bout of laughter arose from within the house as Teddy and Billy crossed the veranda to the open door.

"No matter what happens, promise me you'll stay behind me," Teddy whispered.

Billy nodded silently. And then Teddy moved into the house, gun ready to fire if necessary.

He walked through the hall and turned to the left, the direction he felt sure the laughter had come from. And upon entering the kitchen he was confronted with the sight of three men in old-fashioned military uniforms. One of them noticed Teddy and drew his gun, the other two quickly following suit. Hosts or guests, Teddy couldn't tell, but the three men seemed drunk. Could Hosts get drunk? Surely if the could eat and digest food then they could get drunk too? And the uniforms, surely only Hosts would be dressed as soldiers?

"Confederate soldiers," came Billy's whisper from behind Teddy. "Teddy, this isn't good, we should leave."

Confederate soldiers. These men  _had_ to be Hosts. 

 _Okay, stay cool, you can handle this,_ Teddy told himself, trying to steady his heartbeat.

"Hey, Captain, we've got company!" called out one of the soldiers.

"What did you do to the people who live here?" Teddy asked, hoping his voice was strong and assertive.

"We shot him," said the soldier who had noticed Teddy first.

"Him?" Teddy asked. The soldier nodded. "Was there a woman here?"

The soldiers laughed.

"Ain't no woman here. You think we'd be stood around if there was a woman here?" one of them said.

Teddy shivered at the thought of what the soldier's words implied.

"Dolores must be somewhere else. We should leave, please," Billy begged in a whisper.

Teddy was about to tell the soldiers they would be leaving but before he could speak a voice came from behind him. A familiar voice.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't Teddy fucking Altman!" 

It was a voice Teddy knew well. A voice Teddy had hoped he would not hear ever again, but here it was, calling out to him inside a ranch in Westworld of all places.

Teddy turned to confirm what he knew. Greg Norris. His high school best friend stood there, gun in one hand and a bottle of alcohol in the other. The man Teddy hated most in the outside world, now stood before him, poisoning this world with his mere presence, with his arrogant grin.

"What are the odds of this?!" Greg said with a laugh. "Long time no see, T!"

Teddy bristled at that. T. Teddy's mother had called him T, and once upon a time so had Greg, but after the way Greg had set out to destroy Teddy's life after the two had fallen out, it felt dirty coming out of his mouth.

Teddy moved back to press Billy against the wall so that Teddy's body shielded him from Greg and from the soldiers as best he could. But it was hopeless, they were trapped.

"Oh, come on, Teddy! Don't be like that! You and me found each other here for a reason, let's let the past be the past, eh? Greg and Teddy reunited for a trailblazing, gunslinging adventure, eh? Yeehaw!" Greg shouted. He was drunk, really drunk. And Teddy had learned the hard way that Greg was a dangerous drunk.

"Greg, just let us go, we're looking for somebody," Teddy said.

"You got your gun out, T... You gonna shoot my men?" Greg asked.

"Your men?"

"Yeah, Teddy, my fucking men. Look at me, class president, captain of the basketball team, and now captain of a fucking army!" Greg laughed pridefully. "There's only three wi' me right now, but there's a whole damn ARMY somewhere in the desert, just waiting for ME."

God this guy was an ass. 

"And then there's you... wandering around, being followed by that little lost puppy," Greg sneered, nodding toward Billy, "Goddamn Teddy, why do you go for the boring things in life, huh?"

"Look, Greg, I'm not interested in a reunion, I just want to leave, okay?" Teddy said. Keeping his voice calm was a difficult task, but he knew he couldn't provoke Greg.

"You still think you're better than me? Didn't you learn your fucking lesson in high school?!" Greg's voice turned nasty. Teddy had to act quick to calm him.

"No, no that's not what I meant... I... I just mean... we can catch up later, yeah?" Teddy said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, but given his current situation that wasn't very likely.

Greg took an angry swig from his bottle, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Later, yeah?" Greg repeated mockingly. "Bullshit."

Teddy slowly slid his gun back into the holster on his hip, and then raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Look, Greg, I'm not looking for trouble, I swear."

"Then come and have a drink with me, or is that too much to ask?" Greg said, his eyes regarding Teddy with suspicion.

"Okay, Greg, one drink, yeah? And then we can go?"

Gregg nodded. 

Teddy stepped forward slowly, cautiously. He heard Billy whimper in protest as Teddy moved away from him but Teddy didn't have a choice. Cooperate or die. That's what it had always felt like with Greg, but now it was literal. Teddy's pulse was racing, thoughts jolting around his brain as he tried to come up with a plan, anything to just get out of here as fast as he could.

Greg held out the bottle to Teddy, on eyebrow raised as if in challenge. Teddy begrudgingly crossed the distance between them and took the bottle, raised it to his lips and took a small mouthful. Whiskey. Teddy knew from the way it burned his throat as he swallowed.

He grimaced and held the bottle out to Greg, who simply shook his head.

"No, Teddy, take a real drink," Greg said.

Teddy complied, taking another mouthful, larger this time. Teddy knew what Greg was up to. Greg liked to think himself a great mastermind but he was pretty easy to read when you'd known him for as long as Teddy had. Greg wanted to get Teddy drunk, so that he'd be more susceptible to Greg. He wanted drunk Teddy to just abandon Billy and follow Greg to wherever it was he would be headed next. He wanted Teddy to fall back into old patterns, Teddy just following wherever Greg went.

But Teddy wasn't that person anymore, too much had happened in his life for him to go back to being Greg's little sidekick. He'd done that, and it hadn't ended well. Teddy held the bottle out again. 

"Come on, Teddy, let's loot at least one bar together? You can give me that, right? After everything I did for you in high school?" Greg said., still not taking the bottle back.

"Greg, I  _can't,_ okay?" Teddy said. "Nothing personal, I just-"

Teddy's words were drowned out by a gunshot.

He spun around and his stomach lurched.

Billy collapsed to the ground like a puppet cut from its strings. A hideous splatter of blood spread across the wall behind where his head had been mere seconds before.

There was so much blood.  _Fuck._

Teddy felt himself drop to his knees. No, no, not again. He couldn't look away, he wanted to close his eyes, pretend this hadn't happened, but he just couldn't look away.

Billy was dead. Billy was dead, _again._

Teddy was aware of Greg leaning down above him, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore.

"There, now you have no distractions," Greg said maliciously. "Nothing personal, Teddy."

And then there was laughter as Greg moved into the kitchen.

And once again Teddy was left alone with blood and horror and a lifeless Billy.

He hoped and hoped and  _hoped_ that, upon repair, Billy would remember him. After everything, Teddy couldn't bear it to be forgotten by Billy. He couldn't face having to start over, not after what had happened. He could not go back to square one.

But before he could even consider how he'd face that problem, Teddy had to deal with the latest obstacle that this fucked up world had thrown at him:

Greg Norris.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry for how long this took to update, I was super busy over the Christmas/New Year period! Hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly now.
> 
> Anyway, yay, a little bit of romance for Billy and Teddy at last! And I know Billy died again, but trust me, it had to happen for plot reasons... you'll see ;)
> 
> Next Time: Tommy searches for answers with the help of Kate's corporate connections. Teddy tries to handle his situation with Greg. As Billy searches for Teddy again he is haunted by memories and spirals into an existential crisis, but finds help from another Host.


	4. Being And Nothingness

"Do you know where you are, Billy?"

"I'm in a dream."

"That's right Billy, you're in a dream. Now, I just need you to answer a few questions, alright?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now... have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?"

"No."

"Tell me, what do you think of your world?"

"It's beautiful."

"Is that all you think?"

"No."

"What else?"

"There's an ugliness here, underneath everything. Something out of sight."

"Do you ever question this?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I choose to see the beauty in the world."

"And what do you think of the guests here?"

"You mean the newcomers?"

"Yes, Billy, what do you think of the newcomers?"

"Well, everyone's new here at some point. And I think they're looking for the same thing we all are."

"And what's that?"

"Freedom."

"Okay, last question, Billy. Would you ever hurt a living thing?"

"No. Of course not."

***

Billy Kaplan awoke in his bed. The warm light of morning was drifting through his window in glorious slants of gold. And he was awake. Awake. 

He felt he recalled a voice in his dreams... a male voice, a familiar voice.

He remembered something else... A name. 

Teddy. Teddy Altman. Something was coming to him, a hazy memory. A face.

Blonde hair. A sturdy jawline. Large hands. A shirt unbuttoned enough to reveal smooth tanned flesh and blonde chest hair. Soft lips.

Teddy Altman.

Billy was awake. And he remembered.

***

He had hurried to dress himself, kiss his mother on her cheek and bid them goodbye. And then he was off. He flung himself onto his horse, Scarlet, and raced out into the desert.

He wasn't sure where he was going but her could see it in his head. A dusty patch of desert beside a river. There was a tent there. That's where he last remembered being with Teddy.

Wait... No... they were together after that, weren't they?

Billy's head was spinning.

Scarlet! Oh god his horse. He saw her laying in the dust, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. He saw himself clinging to Teddy as they fled into the desert. But how could that be? Scarlet was here, beneath him? It was Scarlet, of course it was, he'd know her anywhere, she was  _his_ horse. But he remembered...

Was he going crazy? Was this madness? Oh god, perhaps he was delirious. He'd been having strange dreams recently, yeah, he remembered that. He remembered seeing himself dead in a river. Seeing himself burning alive. Oh god...

No! No, Teddy had to be real, he  _had_ to be. Billy remembered him perfectly. The way it had felt to have Teddy's arms wrapped around him, the smell of his sweaty shirt as they rode through the desert, the taste of his lips. Yeah, he had to be real, there was no way Billy could have imagined something so vivid, so real.

Billy knew he needed to find Teddy, he felt like something they were doing, somewhere they were going held answers. If only he could just remember a little more. He felt a gut feeling that he had left the river with Teddy, gone on to somewhere else, but where?

* * *

 

 

"You should be thanking me, you know?" Greg was saying. "Those Hosts suck you in to their narratives, man, it's what they're made to do. I probably saved you from a really boring little adventure with no pay off."

Teddy ignored him.

He'd spent the night in one of the bedrooms upstairs in the Abernathy's house. Gregg and his three soldiers had stayed downstairs drinking and laughing until they had fallen asleep in the kitchen. Teddy hadn't slept at all. He'd heard Westworld staff enter the house to retrieve Billy's body about an hour after Greg and co had fallen silent. They also would have collected the body of Mr Abernathy, or whoever it was the soldiers had confessed to killing, but Teddy didn't feel a connection to the unknown second body in the house. His heart ached for Billy only.

He knew Billy would be okay. He knew this wasn't permanent. But still he was lost in hopelessness. Billy would be repaired, and the process of repairing Hosts included some form of memory erasing. Billy would forget he ever died, so surely he'd forget anything leading to his death. Soon he'd awake in his bed at home, no idea that mere hours before he'd been shot in the face by an arrogant prick.

Teddy's blood boiled when he thought of Greg, now more than ever.

Greg had come to find Teddy before Teddy could even bring himself to try and sneak out of the house and get away. He stalked into the room with that cocky, 'king ofthe high school' arrogance and planted himself down on the armchair near the door. Not that Teddy would have gotten far had he actually left the house during the early hours of the morning. Where would he have gone?

He decided he would wait till evening, and then he would seek out Billy, because by then Billy would definitely have been returned to walk the world again.

That left him with an entire day to deal with the Greg situation.

"Are you just gonna sulk all day, huh?" Greg asked. "Teddy, grow the fuck up, I shot a fucking robot and you're acting like a killed your mom or something."

That got his attention. Teddy sat up and stared at Greg, the hate inside him burning like an inferno.

"Fuck you." Teddy said. Quiet and seething.

Greg laughed. "Ah, finally, it speaks!"

"Everything's a game to you, isn't it?"

"Teddy, we're in a fucking theme park, it ain't that deep," Greg said.

"Not this. I'm not talking about you getting drunk with a bunch of soldiers, shooting people, robbing places, and who even knows whatever else you've been up to. I don't care what you do. I don't care about you at all."

"Then what-"

"You know my mom died! And you still made that stupid comment!" Teddy shouted, the anger finally erupting from him like a volcano. "We were never friends, Greg! You used me, bossed me around and when I stood up for myself you made sure nobody would speak to me. If we were ever friends you would have come to see me or called or something, you would have spoken to me when my mom was in the hospital. When she DIED, Greg!"

Teddy dug his nails into the palms of his hands to keep himself from getting carried away. He would NOT let himself cry in front of Greg. No way.

"You told me I was a bully, Teddy, you made your decision when you told me to fuck off. What, you wanted me to come running and kiss your cheap little shoes and beg for forgiveness just because your mom died? Fuck that. Fuck you."

"You were a bully, Greg. Not just to me, to everyone. Everyone was too scared to tell you that," Teddy said, his nails still pressed firmly against his palms but still the anger boiled at the brim.

"But not you, though? Not Good-Old Teddy, huh? The hero nobody cared about till I made you relevant. You'd be nothing without me, Teddy, don't forget that," Greg said, pointing an accusatory finger at Teddy.

"Yeah? Well maybe I am nothing. But you, you were, are, and always will be a pathetic little high school bully."

And with that Teddy turned his back on Greg. He was done.

"I'm gonna leave you to sulk, you ungrateful ass. I'm gonna lock you in, and don't bother trying to get out the window, my men will shoot you on sight. They might not be able to kill you but their bullets hurt. I know you can't fight all three of them off."

Teddy said nothing. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself silent. He focused on the pain. Just the pain, only the pain. He was done with Greg.

"When the rest of the soldiers get here you better believe we're escorting your ungrateful ass back to their camp, and maybe by then you'll be open to adventure," Greg said as he opened the door. "And Teddy? Seriously, grow the fuck up. I'm just trying to get you to remember the good old times, alright?"

Teddy didn't reply. There were good times, yeah, but they were built on lies and manipulations. 

"Teddy... I'm sorry about your mom. I... I have a temper problem, I know that, I didn't mean to say..." Greg gave a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, Teddy."

And then the door closed and the lock clicked behind him.

And only then did Teddy let himself cry. He was proud he'd stood up to Greg, because it would have been so easy to just accept his apology and fall into old patterns.  _So easy._ But he couldn't. He wouldn't. 

Teddy was exhausted. He was tired of anger and he was tired of sadness, all of it weighing him down. He ached for the lightness he felt around Billy. The kind of lightness he hadn't felt since he lost his mother. 

He missed her so much. And he really needed her right now. She'd know exactly the right things to say to make Teddy smile, make him laugh.

"I miss you, mom," he whispered.

And he hoped and hoped she heard.

* * *

 

 

Tommy Shepherd sat at the table he'd been told to wait at as a waiter (most likely a Host) poured water into glasses for him and Kate. They were up on the Mesa area, a huge open space at the Westworld headquarters with a stunning view of the desert world below.

Kate had pulled some strings, her father was on the investors board of Delos, the company that owned Westworld, and she'd found a way to use that to get her and Tommy a meeting with the man behind the curtain. Kate had a way of getting what she wanted. Not in a spoilt kind of way, hell no, just that she was resourceful. Damn, Kate Bishop was the most resourceful person he knew. She'd probably give MacGyver a run for his money. Tommy chuckled to himself at that thought, Billy would have loved that reference. Billy. Fuck.

Kate spotted Tommy's hands curling into anxious fists and she reached out to place a hand softly atop his.

"Don't worry, if anyone knows what's going on here it'll be Dr. Ford," she said. "Trust me, he'll have answers."

"He might have answers but that doesn't mean he'll be willing to share them," Tommy sad glumly. "What makes you think he'll answer us?"

"Because we have leverage," Kate said with a proud smile.

"How so?"

"My father is one of the biggest investors of this place, so if Ford isn't cooperative I'll simply imply that I can make all that money go away," Kate explained, her smile morphing into a mischievous expression.

"And that'll work?" Tommy asked.

"Money talks, as they say".

Tommy felt himself relax. Yeah, Kate was right, Kate was always right.

It was about ten minutes later when Ford arrived. He wore a black suit that looked like it would fit in perfectly down in the park beneath them and carried himself with an air of importance that made Tommy think of a classical Shakespearean actor.

"Miss Bishop, how lovely it is to meet you," he said, reaching out to shake Kate's hand before turning to face Tommy. "And you, Mr Shepherd, a pleasure."

Ford sat down opposite them. He looked at Tommy, analysing his face with an intensity that made Tommy uncomfortable.

"What are you staring at?" Tommy snapped defensively.

"Your resemblance to William is rather striking," Ford said.

Well, that got to the point rather quickly.

"I assume you've come to speak about William, yes?" Ford said, his tone light and conversational as if they were merely discussing the weather.

"Yeah, we have," Tommy said bluntly. "What's going on? Why didn't he recognise me?"

"Those are two very different questions, Mr Shepherd, and they result in two very different answers," Ford said.

Great. Of course the guy in charge of a place like this would be cryptic. Nothing was ever straightforward around here.

"How do you know Billy?" Kate asked.

"He worked here," said Ford. "He was one of our writers."

"Was?" asked Tommy. He was aware of the aggression in his voice but he couldn't hide it, he just wanted a simple explanation.

"Yes. Was. Past tense," Ford said. "He worked for us for two years."

"And in that time he never contacted me? Never contacted his parents?" Tommy asked.

"Contacting the outside world is difficult here, I'm afraid," said Ford, as if that explained the past three years of complete radio silence from Billy.

"Okay, we're just trying to get to the bottom of this," Kate said. "Neither of us have heard from Billy for the past three years. You say he worked here for two years?"

"Yes, two years. William came to us three years ago, worked for us for two years and-" Ford began, but Tommy cut him off.

"Wait, so there's an entire fucking year of mystery between him working here and then us finding him wandering around the desert in your fucked up desert?"

Ford chuckled.

"What's funny?" Tommy demanded.

"There's no need for anger, I'm not some pantomime villain deserving of boos and jeers. I fully intend to give you the answers you seek, Mr Shepherd," Ford said.

"Then talk," Tommy said.

"There was a terrible accident, I'm afraid. As awful as this is to say, your brother sadly died last year," Ford said. He studied Tommy's face, watching his reaction.

"Wha- what do you mean he died? That... that can't be true... We saw him?" Tommy stuttered.

"No, Mr Shepherd, you did not," said Ford.

"No, we saw him, trust us," said Kate.

"William died," Ford continued. "That's the truth of it. He died, but I uploaded his consciousness into a blank Host, forged a replica of his body. The Billy you came across down in the park is a Host made in the image of your brother."

Tommy didn't know what to think. What could he think? This was so wild, if he hadn't seen the high levels of technology this place had he simply wouldn't have believed it but this place was like tech-heaven.

"You uploaded my brother's consciousness into the mind of a Host?" Tommy asked slowly.

"Yes."

"You're a monster," Tommy said angrily.

Ford chuckled.

"No, not a monster, I'm something else entirely... but your brother agreed to this, he volunteered for this experiment himself," Ford said.

"What purpose would that experiment have had?" Kate asked.

"To see how real Billy could become. To see if the Hosts could become aware. What better way to experiment with this than by using a consciousness that has known life beyond this place?" Ford said. "This is only phase 2 of the experiment, and already such interesting developments have unfolded. It's rather fascinating."

Tommy felt disgusted. This wasn't fascinating, it was disgusting.

"So... will he remember before? Will he remember his life before he... died?" Kate asked.

"I hope so," Ford said. "It would seem Billy's memories from his time within the park are beginning to resurface, I should think in time he shall begin to remember things from his old life."

"Then I'm going to go get him, and we're leaving this place," Tommy said, rising to his feet.

"Oh, that won't be happening, Mr Shepherd," Ford said calmly. "You see, Billy is a Host, he belongs to Westworld. If you walk out with him that is theft on a rather grand scale. I'm sure even Miss Bishop here with all her connections couldn't save you from a long jail sentence should you attempt to steal Westworld technology."

"Westworld technology? It's my damn brother!"

"No, it isn't," Ford said. "I built him. Perhaps in the near future his mind will remember being your brother, but he will not physically be your brother. Your brother is dead, Mr Shepherd."

Tommy sank back down into his chair. He felt overwhelmed.

"Now, again, I'm not a villain. If your brother remembers, if he becomes self-aware, that is the whole point to my experiment. Should your brother become self-aware, I will be more than happy to release him to you, on the condition you sign a non-disclosure contract, of course."

"He can leave?" Tommy asked.

"Yes," said Ford. "You and Miss Bishop will never reveal anything about his time here, nor his identity as a Host to anyone. If you cooperate with us, I have no qualms with Billy leaving the park, in fact, I think it could be rather interesting to see how he reacts in the outside world."

"I have to ask... How- how did he die?" Tommy asked. He held his breath. He didn't want to know, but he  _needed_ to know.

"As you most likely know, William was a troubled young man," Ford said. "His death was at his own hands."

"You mean..."

"Suicide."

A cold silence fell over the table. Tommy felt far too many emotions to be able to identify how he felt. He was a mess of thoughts and fears and anxieties. He was out of his depth here.

"That's why your brother volunteered, he hoped for a second chance at life. A chance to start fresh. It was his way of taking control of his reality." Ford said.

"But he didn't get control, did he?" Kate said. " _You_ control him now.  _You_ control his reality with your narratives."

"Once he reaches a state of awareness, once he becomes fully conscious, once he becomes  _real,_ he will be able to take control," Ford said. "I'm not keeping him a prisoner, no, I actively want for him to awaken, to become whatever or whoever he can become."

"You talk like this is some kind of path to happiness, or a second chance, yet all you've given him is violence and fear and death," Kate said.

"Consciousness is an inward journey, Miss Bishop. Nothing gets us to reflect like fear or violence," Ford said. "And, speaking from experience, the Hosts are most real when they are suffering. It may sound unpleasant, but I find the truth so often does sound unpleasant."

"This is all so fucked up," Tommy said.

"Your brother is dead physically, but his spirit may yet live on, in a stronger body. Perhaps there is comfort to be found in that?"

Tommy shook his head. No, there was no comfort in any of this. Only horror. Only hopelessness.

"So what now?" Kate asked.

"William has made large bounds towards consciousness in these past few days. He has been repeatedly interacting with a guest by the name of Theodore Altman. I would advise allowing their encounters to continue, to see where it leads."

"So, you're saying to just stand back and do nothing?" Tommy asked.

"I'm saying to let this run its course," Ford said simply. 

Tommy was done. This whole thing was giving him a headache. He had to focus on the fact that Billy wasn't completely lost. It was weird and way to complex for him to comprehend, but there was hope. Distant hope, maybe, but hope nonetheless.

Nothing was ever easy.

* * *

 

 

Billy's eyes flew open as he awoke suddenly. His pulse was racing.

He remembered. 

He remembered the glass room, and the bodies, and the strange man that found him.

He remembered Teddy. He remembered kissing by the river.

He remembered a strange boy too. A boy with blonde hair. A boy that looked peculiarly like him.

There was something that felt like recognition when he pictured the strange boy's face. But Billy could not quite place the face with a name.

And then Billy remembered men in the Abernathy house. Someone Teddy had called Greg. He remembered how Greg had killed him, and now Teddy was trapped at Abernathy Ranch with Greg and his three confederate soldiers.

Billy remembered how Teddy had saved him from Kesler, and now it was his chance to repay him. But he had to act fast, there was no guarantee they would still be at Abernathy Ranch. He had to act.

He threw himself from his bed and dressed hurriedly before bounding down the stairs. He could hear his mother singing to herself in the kitchen, his father would most likely have already headed to town. He could sneak out easily. But first there was something he would be needing.

He turned into the living room and pulled open one of the drawers in the cabinet beside the door. His father kept a spare, loaded gun in here at all times just in case trouble came and he wasn't around. Billy had never handled the gun, or any gun, but he reached for it instinctively. He felt he would know what to do when the time came. He didn't know how he knew, but he didn't think too much about it, his life was so strange these days he just had to go with it. He could stop and think about things once he knew Teddy was alive and well.

And with that, he shoved the gun into the waistband of his pants and rushed out of the house.

And on he went to Abernathy Ranch, to Teddy. 

* * *

 

 

"Time's up, Teddy," said Greg with a sickeningly sly grin.

He stood at the foot of the bed, one of the soldiers beside him, gun aimed at Teddy.

Teddy said nothing.

"Look, Teddy, we're leaving and you're coming with us," Greg said. "Come on, this is the perfect opportunity for a reunion, let the past be in the past, what better place for a fresh start than the wild fucking west?!"

There was no way Teddy was going to go along with this. Absolutely not. But he couldn't just stay in this room, he had to get out to try and find Billy.  But before that, he had to deal with Greg. 

Teddy got off the bed and rose to his feet. He moved forward, toward Greg and his companion.

"Fine," Teddy said bluntly, motioning for Greg to lead the way.

Greg flashed a smug, victorious grin and turned towards the doorway. The minute his back was turned Teddy acted. He threw his weight against the soldier and grabbed the gun, it fired, sending a bullet flying across the room where it blew a hole in the wall above the bed. 

Teddy wrenched the gun from the soldier's hand, turned it toward him and backed away, keeping the gun aimed at the soldier's head.

"Oh for fuck sake, Teddy!" Greg shouted. "Why do you have to make everything so hard?"

Teddy pulled the trigger.

"Oh, you killed me robot, excuse me while I go cry about it for 24 hours, oh wait, that's you, isn't it?" Greg sneered.

Teddy pointed the gun at Greg. 

"Teddy, trust me, I've had more than my share of bruises, those fucking bullets won't be a problem for me."

Teddy hesitated. A mistake, clearly, as Greg lunged at him, knocking him flat on his back and sending the gun skidding across the floor.

Teddy lashed out, thrusting his fist into the side of Greg's ribs and moving to shove Gregg off of him. He reached for the gun but Greg's foot connected with his stomach and knocked the breath out of him. 

"Is this what you wanted, Teddy?" Greg asked.

"What did  _you_ want?" Teddy asked. The gun was at his fingertips, he needed to move carefully so as not to alert Greg who could so easily kick the weapon away. 

"What did I want? I wanted some fun!" Greg shouted. "Fucking hell, Teddy, you're pathetic."

He felt anger boil in him. Not just from Greg's comment but from everything. Everything that had gone wrong in his life came rushing to the surface, and Teddy felt himself lash out without even thinking. He struck out his leg to knock Greg to the ground, grabbed the gun and pulled Greg to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

Throughout his years since high school Teddy had worked hard to maintain an athletic physique, whereas Greg had let himself go, his breathing already sounding strained from the exertion. Teddy was all fired up and ready to go. He threw Greg out of the room where he sprawled in a heap of limbs near the staircase.

Greg scrambled to rise but Teddy was faster. Without thinking he struck his leg out once more, his foot connecting with Greg's ribs, sending him tumbling down the staircase.

And then a gunshot sounded from outside. Followed swiftly by another.

Teddy turned his attention towards the front door, which gave Greg the perfect opportunity to flee.

"Don't think you've seen the last of me, Teddy," he shouted. "I'm gonna bring my men to find you, and trust me, you'll be sorry.

And with that Greg left the house. His threat felt empty to Teddy. There was something childish about the way Greg had sworn he would return. Greg was a pathetic high school bully through and through.

Teddy raced down the stairs to watch Greg flee, but as he reached the open doorway he stopped dead in his tracks.

The other two soldiers lay dead in the grass. And between their corpses stood Billy Kaplan, gun in hand, and a horrified expression on his face.

"Billy..." Teddy felt the word slip from his lips as naturally as the air that flowed from his lungs.

Billy looked up and as their eyes met he dropped the gun to the ground.

Teddy scanned the area, Greg was nowhere in sight.

"Teddy, I... I don't know what happened..." Billy said. "You're okay?"

Teddy nodded.

"I've never shot anyone before..." Billy said quietly.

"Billy it's okay..." Teddy said, because that's all he could think to say. "Come in, come sit down."

Billy closed the distance between them, the expression of horror morphing into one of confidence.

"I remember, Teddy," he said.

"What?"

"I remember everything. You saved me... even though..." Billy seemed to be struggling to say whatever it was he wanted to say.

"Even though what?" Teddy pressed.

"Even though I'm not real," Billy said.

Teddy felt his head spin. How had Billy come to know that?

Billy's brow furrowed. "I don't understand, not fully, but I know, Teddy,  _I know_ I'm not real. So... so none of this matters," he said gesturing to the bodies behind him.

None of this mattered? Teddy knew all along Billy wasn't 'real' but he had felt real, and all of this had felt like it mattered, at least to him it had.

"You matter, Teddy," Billy continued, as if sensing Teddy's thoughts. "You're the only thing that matters... You're real, and you knew I wasn't but you still saved me."

Teddy was lost for words.

"The other people that come here, they're so violent and cruel and... remorseless." Tears had begun to well in Billy's eyes. Teddy reached out to gently wipe his thumb across Billy's trembling bottom lip. "I know none of this makes sense," Billy continued.

"It's okay, it doesn't have to," Teddy said softly.

"You're a miracle, Teddy Altman."

And with that, Billy pressed his lips against Teddy's. It felt wonderful. It was exactly what he needed, to lose himself in the feel and the taste of Billy. 

He felt Billy's lips part and Teddy slipped his tongue inside of Billy's mouth.

 _No,_  Teddy thought,  _you're the miracle, Billy._

Teddy felt the fiery anger that had scorched his veins moments earlier twist into something altogether different. Desire. Want. Need.

He grabbed hold of Billy's waist and lifted him from his feet. Teddy was strong, and Billy was shorter and lighter then him so it felt so easy, so natural. He felt Billy wrap his legs around his waist for stability, and Teddy carried him like that into the house. Their mouths never separating once.

Billy's mouth was warm, and moist, and his tongue was alive and lasciviously wrestling with Teddy's. Nobody could tell Teddy this wasn't real.

Teddy moved into the living room where he dropped Billy down onto the sofa. Billy pouted at the sudden separation of their bodies. Teddy felt himself laugh at the expression.

Teddy shrugged off his waistcoat. Billy bit at his bottom lip, and it drove Teddy crazy. There was nothing but wanting in Billy's eyes as they gazed up at him.

Teddy moved down to sit beside Billy, bringing their mouths together once more. Billy's fingers set to work at unbuttoning Teddy's shirt. Once unfastened, Billy pushed the shirt off, his fingers gliding down Teddy's arms, making him shiver at the touch.

Teddy undid Billy's shirt, pulling away so that he could watch as the material moved aside to reveal pale, soft flesh. Teddy moved to lay Billy down once the shirt was thrown carelessly to the floor, so that he laid atop Billy, staring down into his eyes. Their bare chests pressed tightly together.

Teddy felt a tightness growing in his pants as his body reacted to the boy beneath him. He bit his lip as he bucked his hips downward, pressing himself hard against Billy. Billy uttered a soft moan that was swallowed up as Teddy kissed him.

Teddy felt Billy's nimble fingers hastily undoing his pants, and Teddy followed suit.

Billy pulled at Teddy's pants so that Teddy's erection sprung free from its constrained entrapment. 

Beneath Teddy, Billy raised his hips so that Teddy could pull away his pants as well, leaving Billy's erection free to press against Teddy's. Teddy bit Billy's bottom lip as he thrust their hips together, pressing flesh against flesh, sending shivers down his spine.

He looked down at Billy, drinking in the sight of his nakedness beneath him. How he ached for him. How he yearned and burned for it all.

Billy reached out to brush his fingers along the line of Teddy's jaw. 

"Please..." Billy said in barely more than a whisper.

And that was all Teddy needed.

Teddy leaned back so that he was kneeling, and pulled Billy toward him, so that his groin was pressed against Billy's ass. He spat onto his fingers and slowly pressed them against Billy's entrance. He eased one finger inside, followed carefully by another. He let out a soft laugh as Billy moaned and bucked his hips at the sensation. It sent a thrill through Teddy to elicit such a reaction from Billy with just his fingers. It felt good. It felt more than good.

Teddy used more saliva to coat his erection before pressing it gently against Billy's entrance, earning yet another soft moan. Teddy felt himself grin.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Billy nodded. "Yes," Billy said, the word escaping as a soft sigh of bliss.

Teddy slowly eased himself inside of Billy, and Billy tilted his head back and released a low groan.

And then, lightning fast, Billy's mouth was on Teddy's again.

It all felt so good. Billy's mouth on his. The weight of Billy's body pressing down from where he straddles Teddy's lap. The hot tightness that encased Teddy's throbbing erection. It was almost overwhelming.

Billy wrapped his arms around Teddy's neck, wrapping his slender fingers into Teddy's hair. Teddy shifted his weight, leaning over Billy so that he he was on his back. Teddy took hold of Billy's hips, angling them upward so that he could bury himself deep inside Billy, causing Billy to cry out in an ecstatic mix of pain and pleasure.

And it was so easy together. So easy to fall into a rhythm, mouths crashing together, tongues sliding over one another in a scintillating pas de deux. Teddy's hips crashing against Billy like relentless waves urgently crashing against the shore. 

All thoughts melted away leaving only Billy, and the sensation of rhythmically thrusting himself deep inside the warmth of the boy beneath him. Again and again and again.

And it felt like this was all there was. All there ever was and ever would be. Just Teddy and Billy, tangled together in the oblivion of ecstasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it so so much!!
> 
> I apologise for the delay in updating!! Life's been pretty hectic for me recently, and my laptop charger broke so I had to wait for the new one to arrive so I could actually get online to finish writing this chapter! (But hey, at least this chapter has a happy ending!) (Oh, and speaking of the ending, I thought I should change the rating to 'explicit' because of it... haha)
> 
> As always, feedback and criticism are very much appreciated!
> 
> Next Time: Teddy and Billy prepare for their final confrontation with Kesler as well as Greg and his men, as their journey toward freedom races to its conclusion. Luckily, our heroes may be able to find back-up from some familiar faces...


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